Master of the Emeralds
by JudasFm
Summary: S3&K adaptation. A disturbing rumour that Robotnik may somehow have survived the explosion of his Death Egg leads Sonic and Tails to a strange flying island to search for answers...and straight into conflict with a new enemy. Please R&R!
1. Emerald Thief

**A/N: Just so you guys know, this fic follows on pretty much directly from my Sonic 2 adaptation _Rising Star. _I like keeping the continuity where I can :P**

Pale wisps of cloud drifted lazily along in a deep blue sky. It was hardly worthwhile trying to find shapes in them; they were too thin and so small you probably wouldn't see them from the ground anyway. A couple of feet below, a salmon fisher (a kind of large Mobian bird named more for its colour than its diet) circled lazily around. It was unusual to find one so high up; the pink and blue birds tended to be only about fifty or sixty feet above ground level, circling their own individual fishing grounds and waiting for some unsuspecting fish to swim into them.

This particular salmon fisher had been doing just that and happily minding its own business when it had almost been hit by a plane, which had necessitated an emergency ascent of several hundred feet. The plane in question had continued on its way and was just about visible on the horizon.

This in itself was nothing very unusual. Quite a few Mobians had planes. The pilot was a little more unorthodox – he didn't look any older than four or five and had to sit on three large cushions before he could see where he was flying – and the blue hedgehog (and owner of the plane) standing on the wing was a pretty strange sight too.

Then again, since everyone on Mobius had heard of Sonic the hedgehog and his newly adopted sidekick and little brother Tails, perhaps it wasn't so strange after all.

What _was_ unusual, however, was their destination; a lush looking tropical island. Although Mobius also had plenty of tropical islands, not many of these were found flying at several thousand feet, and Sonic was half inclined to take the rumours of it with a pinch of salt. Part of this was the sheer craziness of the idea – whoever heard of an aerial island – but part of it was also the fact that he and his new little brother were chasing Robotnik, and that thought didn't exactly fill the hedgehog with joy.

Tails, on the other hand, had grown more and more impatient as the six months of Sonic's recovery had passed, demanding to know when they were gonna go whump ol' Robotnik.

Sonic himself was feeling a lot less enthusiastic about this than Tails. The last time he'd fought Robotnik had been on the Death Egg, when he'd come up against Robo-Sonic and a giant battle robot the doctor had dubbed the Eggstreme Annihilator. Both had almost killed him; Robo-Sonic had tried to literally pin him to the wall. Sonic's fur hid the horrific scars from that encounter, scars he knew he'd probably have for the rest of his life. Granted Robotnik was almost certainly dead – nothing could have survived the Death Egg's explosion – but Sonic still wasn't entirely happy about this new excursion.

He was, however, extremely curious about this place Tails had spotted with one of the telescopes in Sky High Zone, and it had been that more than anything which prompted him to go along. The little fox had discovered an island floating in the sky, and wanted to go see if there was anyone there, and if not, did he get to name it as its discoverer?

A flying island? Sonic had never heard of such a thing before.

"Tails?" he said suddenly.

"Yup?"

"You sure it was an _island_ you saw?"

Tails sighed and rolled his eyes. This was the eighth time Sonic had asked this question, and for the eighth time the little fox gave the same answer.

"I'm sure."

"Not some kind of odd metallic circular thing?"

"Well, I dunno if it's 'tallic without getting up real close, Sonic, but it's really an island 'cause I saw green stuff on the outside."

Did dead bodies go mouldy? Sonic imagined so – if you wanted to be perfectly crude about it, they were nothing more than carrion and meat after all – but he'd never actually seen for himself.

_Green stuff...could it be Robot—no._ He stamped on that thought hard. _No, don't be stupid. Even someone as large as the doctor wouldn't...well...not that much. Yet._

He gritted his teeth. Sometimes he sure wished he didn't have such a vivid imagination.

Still, if there really was a flying island, that would explain why the Death Egg had never hit the Mobian surface.

_Yeah. And because it was blown out the sky. Stop creeping yourself out, Sonic; you're not going to find anything there._

Sonic opened his bag and took a quick look at the seven Chaos Emeralds inside, then made up his mind. It had taken him a long time to learn how to harness their powers for himself – even now it didn't always work and not for very long – and he rarely did it, but this was something of a special case. He didn't know what he was going to find in this place, but he wanted to be prepared.

In the pilot's seat, Tails suddenly yipped with excitement. "Lookit, Sonic! I see it! I _see_ it!"

"What? Where?" Sonic returned his gaze to the sky ahead and caught sight of the island.

"I'll be damned," he breathed softly. An island flying in the sky...what kept it up? What _was_ it? Mighty the armadillo had supposedly visited it (and Sonic had first heard about it from him back in Emerald Hill Zone) but he hadn't been able to tell the hedgehog a great deal about it.

The Tornado rose slightly higher – it was running like a dream ever since Tails had fixed it back on Westside Island – and crossed the border of the island. Sonic made up his mind and jumped off it, feeling the power of the Chaos Emeralds surge into him. A few seconds later, he reappeared, bright yellow and moving so fast he skimmed over the surface of the lake the Tornado was now flying over.

Once on the other side, Tails managed to land on the outskirts of a jungle and hopped out, then started to run behind Sonic.

The hedgehog was feeling more confident with every step he took. Part of that was just his own natural optimism coming into play, but part of it was also the thought of the Chaos Emeralds protecting him from any danger. Granted it only lasted a short time, but all the while he had them on his side, short of drowning, falling or getting crushed, there was _nothing_ that could hurt him!

It was just after he'd thought this that something erupted from the ground and rammed him hard, knocking him off his feet and a good three yards back, scattering the Chaos Emeralds around him. Stunned, he could only watch as his assailant – a strange creature he'd never seen before – raced past, gathering up all the Chaos Emeralds and turning to look mockingly at him. The sight jerked the hedgehog back to reality and he snapped to his feet furiously.

"Give me those!"

The creature laughed in his face. "Come and get them, thief, if you dare."

Sonic tensed. "Oh, I dare alright. And who are you calling a thief?"

"Not you!" Tails raced to stand between the hedgehog and the stranger, small paws jammed firmly on hips and a scowl on his face. "Do you _know_ who you jus' whumped?"

"Perhaps a better question might be, do I care?" the other answered, his tone one of cool arrogance.

"You _better_ care! You can't jus' go about whumping people like Sonic with imup...impy...immu...without getting whumped back!"

"This is my island, kid. What I want goes." The stranger paused for all of half a second before adding, "And I want _you_ to go. Both of you."

"_I wants_ don't get!"

"When I want a lesson in surface etiquette, I'll tell you. In the meantime, you have ten minutes to get the hell off my island."

Sonic moved up behind Tails in a protective fashion. "And _you_ got ten _seconds_ to give me my Chaos Emeralds back!"

"They aren't yours, _Sonic_."

"They are so!" Tails said loudly. "Sonic got 'em from the Special Zones, all of them! You can't jus' come in an' _take_ 'em, 'cause that's stealing an' that's not fair!"

The other looked momentarily taken aback. Sonic couldn't blame him; Tails in full indignation mode often had that effect on people.

"Look, I need those Emeralds," he said. The creature snorted.

"That right?" He closed his eyes and the Emeralds in question rose to orbit him, getting faster and faster until they were nothing more than a multicoloured blur.

Sonic hesitated. He'd fight this guy if he had to, but he didn't feel comfortable about attacking when the stranger had his eyes shut...and especially not when there was a chance he was going to tap into the Emeralds' power at any minute.

Even as he watched, the Emeralds vanished into thin air and the stranger opened his eyes.

"If you need them so badly, go and find them."

Turning, he strode to the edge of a chasm that barred the way ahead and leapt off into it.

The thought that some weirdo had just assaulted him, taken all his Chaos Emeralds, made them disappear and then apparently committed suicide kicked Sonic into action and he raced forward, skidding to a stop on the edge and peering over.

The sight which greeted him didn't do a lot for his mood; the creature was riding the air in an almost comical superhero pose – ie, both clenched fists extended in front of him – and while it wasn't the fastest way of moving the hedgehog had ever seen, it _was_ undeniably effective.

Sonic stared. "He can _fly_?" That...surely that wasn't possible? The guy didn't have any wings that Sonic could see. On the other hand, Tails didn't have wings either, but at least the whole propeller routine was...well, semi-logical.

Tails came up, panting for breath, then caught sight of the stranger and his jaw dropped. "Wow! I didn't know he could glide like that!"

Of course, that was it...gliding. Not that this made any difference; Sonic still couldn't see how the hell he was doing it.

"He's going to hit the cliff if he keeps going at that rate."

"I think he knows that." Tails pointed to where the creature had latched onto the rock and was now climbing up.

"Tails, can you fly me over there?"

The fox squirmed. "Uh...I dunno. Maybe. It's a real big ditch, Sonic."

"If you're not sure, then we won't risk it." Sonic shaded his eyes, watching as the stranger walked into the forest. That was what really irked the hedgehog; he wasn't running, he was _walking_, almost sauntering as though he knew full well there was no way anybody could possibly chase him.

Sonic continued to watch until his assailant was out of sight, then turned to stare at Tails, stunned.

"What was _that_ all about?"

**Okay, so that's the scene-setting done :P Granted it's short but there's not much else to write for the minute. Hope you liked it and if you read, please review!**


	2. Angel Island Zone

_**Author's Note: While I have your attention (and if anyone doesn't read this it's gonna be repeated at the bottom :P) please, please take two minutes to sign the petition asking to take out the rule about 'No replying to reviewers'. I can't post the link here because won't allow links or email addys in chapters (they just get formatted out) but it's at the top of my profile page. Thanks :)**_

**Kj: Yep, Knuckles (finally! Man, I missed not being able to write him in _Rising Star_!)**

**WritergurlLW: Thanks :)**

**Private somebody: Heh, I don't mind two-in-one reviews :P Knuckles' POV...I'm trying to keep as faithful to the games as I can (yes, alright, I know Knuckles was a playable character in the games, but you could also play Sonic or Tails alone). There will be the odd part (mostly towards the end) but it's mostly going to be Sonic and Tails. Knuckles' gullibility, oh, don't worry, that'll be covered ;) And yes, a baboon did take credit for defeating Robotnik, way back in Sonic 1 (Jungle Zone) :P**

**Poridet: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :D And thanks for your final comments on _Rising Star_ as well**

**SonicTails123: Oh yeah, I'm still writing :P Try and stop me ;) And thanks, glad you like it so far**

**Shadow-spawn180: Thanks :D As to the format of it...well...read on ;)**

**Pyro Hedgehog4Ever: Thanks :) Yeah, I think Tails is pretty protective of Sonic :P**

**Myuu-san: Thanks :D**

**Matt Lans: You said it ;) And...well, Knux is potentially a jerk in this one :P**

**Wrong light: Again, Knux is a potential jerk ;) On the writing side, all anyone really needs is practice :P After all, nobody taught me how to do this; creative writing isn't considered a good thing to teach in UK schools (Though I'm hoping to qualify as a creative writing tutor before too long, so maybe I can help change that :D)**

**TrueVulcanRaven: Yeah...something tells me Knux is gonna have one hell of a shock around Hidden Palace Zone (gets arrested by Pun Police) ;)**

**Forgotten Muse: I am indeed prolific. But my doctor tells me there's a cream I can get for it :P The Sonic 1 adaptation...it's coming, believe me.**

**TOONSRULE: Well, it's about the only chapter that's likely to be short...and that's only because there wasn't much to write about :P**

**Milette Tails Prower: Thanks :D Island crashing at the beginning...well, I still say that if the Master Emerald was in place, even if the island had crashed when the Death Egg hit it, it would just rise into the sky again...and reading Chapter One, bear in mind that the Death Egg crashed six months ago :P**

**D.C.111: Yep, it continues. I've been itching to write this one since I was about three chapters into _Rising Star_. Well...actually, at the time, it was more sort of 'if _Rising Star_ gets a few reviews and people like it, maybe I'll do this one' :P**

**PiKA of DEWM: Yeah, I love that bit too :D And thanks :) A _Sonic Advance_ adaptation...I've never played that, but why not? Not sure about being a fan of old school (well, okay, I am :P); basically, if there isn't too much dialogue I'm willing to write an adaptation. Popular demand seems to be for the _Sonic 1_ adaptation, though, and I have a _Knuckles Chaotix_ adaptation in the works and I want to do a _Sonic Adventure 2_ and a _Sonic CD_ one as well...perhaps after (alongside?) those I'll tackle _Sonic Advance_. After playing it for the first time yesterday, I'm also determined to find a way of doing _Shadow the Hedgehog._..I've also updated my profile page to show a list of adaptations that I'll probably be working on ;)**

**DragonUk: Thanks...I'll do my best ;) No...I've read a couple of Netraptor's fics (mainly the ones dealing with the Chaotix) but not that one...worst part is I can't now until I've finished my fic, in case I get accused of pinching ideas :( Maybe after this one's over...**

**Raziel777: Thanks, glad you like it so far!**

**Jam tornado: Thanks :)**

**Dr Namgge: Well, it picks up more or less where _Rising Star _left off; as mentioned in the last chapter there was a six month gap between the Death Egg crashing and Sonic and Tails going to look for it ;) And yes, I am going to tackle the Super Emeralds plothole :P Knuckles' game...no, it's not going to cover it in the sense you mean. I'd have to write a Zone and the enemies from Sonic and Tails' point of view, then do exactly the same thing (with occasional changes) and change the name of the character to Knuckles...it's just not feasible. You will probably get to see Knuckles vs. Robo-/Mecha-Sonic, though; that's too cool a battle not to include ;)**

**Guardian Angel of Haven City: Thanks, and yes, shall be updated as per request :P**

**Skydra the Chaos Hedgehog: Thanks :D Yeah, I remember the wall thing...to be honest, it's about the only time I've ever used debug mode to get past something (shrugs) I just hate pressure levels like that ;)**

"Why'd he take your Chaos Emeralds, Sonic?" Tails was practically bouncing with indignation, hopping all around Sonic so erratically the hedgehog was constantly having to stop to avoid walking into him. "Why's he so mean, huh?"

Sonic shook his head. He'd become so confident in his super form that the stranger's attack had come as a double shock to him.

"I dunno, lil buddy. Maybe he doesn't want us around."

Tails looked hurt; the little fox had had ample experience of not being wanted. "How come not?"

"No idea."

"'Cause this is a real nice place, Sonic, so how come he doesn't want us to share it?"

"Maybe _because_ it's such a nice place." Sonic looked around. Tails was right, the place was beautiful in a typically jungle way; huge shrubs with bright red flowers were dotted in and around the lush undergrowth, and there were more palm trees than you could shake a stick at.

In fact, if it hadn't been for some psycho stealing his Chaos Emeralds and the possibility – however distant – of Robotnik still being alive, Sonic thought this could be a pretty cool place to stay.

Pausing by a shrub that looked a little like a giant red foxglove, Sonic inhaled long and hard. Delicious.

Tails eyed him warily. The little fox had stopped smelling the flowers on this island after a bee had taken violent exception to being sucked up the little fox's nasal passages and stung him hard on the nose, something that Sonic was still finding it very hard not to laugh about.

Glancing around, Tails caught sight of something up a tree and perked up.

"Hey Sonic! Guess what _I _can see!"

"What can you see?"

Tails pouted. "You're s'posed to _guess_, Sonic! That's the game, 'member?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, I remember. And the rules also say that you gotta give me a hint."

"It's to do with trees."

"Trees, huh? Let me see..." Sonic pondered for a few minutes. "Leaves?"

Tails shook his head.

"Branches?"

Another shake of the head.

"I give up. What?"

Beaming, Tails announced, "A great big ugly huge monkey bot thing that I'm gonna whump!"

"Now how on Mobius did you expect me to guess _that_?" Sonic demanded before Tails' words really registered and he stared at the little fox. "Wait! What did you say?"

"I'm gonna go whump it!" Tails raced off towards a tree before the stunned Sonic could follow.

The hedgehog shook his head. Despite not wanting to think about the possibility of Robotnik's survival, part of him hoped it really _had_ been a bot Tails saw. If not, he was most likely going to have some explaining to do.

There was a muffled but very distinctive _poom_ from the top of the tree and Tails bounced back to Sonic, his beam now threatening to take in his ears.

"I _did_ it! I whumped the bot, Sonic, didja see me? Didja?"

The hedgehog felt his heart sink very slowly. "Are you sure it was a bot, Tails?"

Tails scowled. "Sure I'm sure! I whumped _loads_ more'n you on Westside Island, Sonic, so I know a bot when I see one an' that was a definite bot 'cause when I whumped it it went _poom_!"

Sonic floundered for an excuse. "Well...maybe...maybe that guy who took the Chaos Emeralds is the one who built it."

The little fox giggled. "Nuh uh! 'S gotta be ol' Robotnik! C'mon Sonic; lessee if we can find more bots to whump!"

"Hold it." Sonic raced after Tails, overtaking him by a large boulder. "There's no point..." He broke off suddenly and stamped on the ground, hard. It echoed.

"No point what, Sonic?" Small face scrunched in perplexity, Tails flew down to squint at Sonic's foot. "How come you're stomping the ground?"

"I think it's hollow. Like there's a tunnel or something underneath." Sonic studied the boulder carefully. "Let me see if I can't..." Reaching down, he started to push. It took all his strength, but it moved a lot more easily than if it really had been made of rock, Sonic thought. Obviously it had only been placed there as a kind of bluff.

The weight increased suddenly and Sonic glanced up.

"Tails!"

"What?"

Through teeth gritted with effort, Sonic said, "Get off the damn rock!"

"Oh. Okay." Tails took off, hovering as Sonic shoved the boulder to the edge of the hill and returned to look at the flattened grasses where it had been.

"Whatcha gonna do now, Sonic?"

"This." Sonic leapt into the air, spinning over several times, then spindashed into the ground, burrowing through it.

His guess was proved right; before he'd gone more than about six feet the resistance abruptly vanished and he dropped down a narrow shaft into a secret underground room, empty except for a plinth on which a giant ring was spinning.

A giant ring? Sonic stared at it, uncomprehending. What was it there for?

"Hey, look at me, Sonic!" Tails landed, scampered past the hedgehog and jumped through the centre of the ring, promptly vanishing into thin air.

"Tails!" The ring was shrinking in diameter and even Sonic was barely fast enough to jump through in time.

Once on the other side, he looked around. He was standing on what looked like a giant checkered ball, and Tails was already racing around on it happily.

"Sonic! You came! C'mon, let's see who can grab the most balls!"

"Hold up a minute." Sonic grabbed the little fox as Tails scampered past for the third time and lifted him bodily into the air.

"He-ey! No fair, Sonic! No fair picking me up an' collecting all the balls yourself, 'cause that's jus' _mean_!" Tails wriggled ineffectively for several seconds before eventually giving up and scowling at Sonic, arms folded.

"Tails? Where are we?"

Tails' frown increased, this time in thought. "I dunno, Sonic, but it's real cool! Don't you think it's cool?"

With an incredible effort, he managed to get free and raced off. Despite Tails' using the word _grab_, Sonic thought that _touch_ was probably nearer the mark; as soon as you made contact with one, it disappeared.

Well, he supposed it was better than the Special Zone. At least here there was nothing chasing you; you could just run around, and Tails was happy. What was wrong with a little friendly competition?

It wasn't until Sonic had collected several of the spheres (in fact, he'd lost count as to how many he'd got) that he caught sight of a gleam of green in the far distance. Thinking that it could be a way out – playing this game was all very well, but he was starting to get hungry – Sonic sped towards it only to find that it receded away from him.

Ploughing through a row of blue spheres more by luck than judgment, Sonic increased the speed and managed to get a little closer before the gleam retreated again, still keeping an equal distance between them.

It wasn't until he'd repeated this pattern several times that the truth dawned on him; the key wasn't in the speed, it was in the _spheres_. Get the spheres, and the distance closed.

Sonic picked up the collecting pace, darting in and around red spheres (and just what would they do if he touched one? he wondered).

It wasn't until he'd grabbed at least twenty more that he got close enough to identify the object, and then he was so startled he hit the brakes and Tails cannoned into him, sending them both flying into it.

There was a whirling sensation similar to the one Sonic experienced on the single occasion when he'd got drunk – back in Emerald Hill Zone – and a blinding white light filled his vision. Closing his eyes tightly, Sonic didn't open them again until he and Tails had landed gracefully back in the small cave they'd just left. There was no sign of the giant ring.

"Ooh!" Tails' eyes bugged out. "You got a Chaos Emerald, Sonic! Look!"

Sonic glanced down at the green gem he was clutching in one hand and grinned broadly.

"You bet I did, little bro." Securing it carefully inside his quills, Sonic fixed Tails with a look. "Tails...I know you're one smart little kid—"

"_Not_ little!"

"—one smart _big_ kid," Sonic corrected himself with a slight grin, "but I gotta ask you; how the _hell_ did you know we had to get blue spheres?"

Tails shrugged. "I didn't. I on'y wanted to collect 'em 'cause _you're_ blue an' I wasn't gonna get the _red_ ones, no way, 'cause that mean guy who stole your Chaos Emeralds is red. Well, actually he's kinda pink, but I couldn't see any pink balls. An' we got one of the Em'ralds back now, so once we get the other six you can go whump him, huh Sonic?"

"I don't wanna whump him, kiddo, not until I know what's going on. He knew what the Chaos Emeralds were, and I want to know how he found that out." Sonic paused. He knew Robotnik had once planned to use the seven Emeralds to contain all the evil on Mobius, but he'd never thought to ask the doctor just where he'd gotten the gems from in the first place.

"Mebbe he's working for ol' Robotnik," Tails suggested after a moment's thought.

"We don't know if Robotnik's still alive, Tails," Sonic said, a little more sharply than he'd intended.

"Oh sure, but you don't gotta worry, Sonic, 'cause I _know_ he's still out there waiting to kill you!"

"Thanks." The sourness in the hedgehog's tones went unnoticed by Tails, who swelled up with pride.

"Yup, I know he's out there somewhere, Sonic! My heart tells me. You gotta listen to your heart, Sonic, 'cause it always tells the truth."

Sonic shook his head. "That is _it_, Tails. No more Kids Movie Channel for you." Sonic frowned at Tails' hand, which was placed over where the little fox thought his heart was. "And I think you're pointing at your intestines."

"What's instetmines?"

"They're like...like..." Sonic's limited knowledge of anatomy and physiology failed him and he dragged up an image from a hospital drama he'd got quite hooked on in Metropolis Zone. "Like sausages."

Tails brightened. "Boy, that's good, huh Sonic?"

"It...is?"

"Sure, 'cause then when we get hungry you c'n jus' do that spindash thing to slice me open an' we can take the sausages out an' eat 'em!" Tails became morose. "Boy, I sure wish I'd known about those sausages last year, 'cause that was _real_ bad, Sonic, real _real_ bad."

"Was it?" Sonic spoke almost absently; he'd learned that Tails would happily chat to a paper bag if nobody else was around to listen.

"Uh huh, 'cause there were no people coming to visit Em'rald Hill Zone an' so I had to get food outta trashcans an' it was all smelly an' furry." Tails pondered for a few minutes and then abruptly announced, "I don't like furry food, Sonic."

"I don't blame you." It took a concentrated effort for Sonic to keep his voice that calm; even after all this time, Tails' being forced to live wild in Emerald Hill Zone for two years angered him. It wasn't so much the fact that it had happened – Sonic was an optimist, but he was also realistic enough to know that there were plenty of kids in that situation all over Mobius – as the fact that nobody had cared before Sonic had turned up. In all fairness, even he'd only really become involved after Tails had spent two days following after him and literally knocked the hedgehog halfway down the beach.

"Sonic?" Tails said suddenly.

"Yeah, lil bro?"

"Look up there! There's a cork bird!"

Sonic raised an eye ridge. "A cork bird? They like volcanic places, don't they?"

"Yeah, but mebbe this one's lost an' you gotta help it get back but first you gotta _see_ it, Sonic! Look there!" Tails pointed up at a ninety degree angle.

Grinning inwardly, Sonic craned his head back. There was no cork bird there, not that he'd expected to see one. Tails had just wanted him to look away long enough to—

"Pounce attack!"

—do that, Sonic finished mentally as the little fox slammed into him at chest height and knocked him off his feet.

"I gotcha, Sonic!" Tails attempted to straddle the hedgehog's torso but found his legs weren't quite long enough to reach and so settled for just sitting on Sonic's stomach instead, namesakes wagging happily and stirring up clouds of dust from the path. "There was no cork bird! I gotcha! It was all jus' a trick so's I could pounce attack you, an' you fell for it!"

"I always do, don't I?" Sonic grinned broadly. The Pounce Attack Game was one of Tails' favourites, and the little fox firmly believed that he always managed to fool the hedgehog with his wild stories.

Tails considered. "You don't think the cork bird thing was pushing it, Sonic?"

"No, squirt, no. The hoverboarding elephant two days ago was pushing it, but not the cork bird." Sonic winked. "C'mon."

The little fox followed obediently, although it took two more sneak attacks from behind before Tails was 'all pounced out', as he put it, and Sonic could continue walking in peace. Even then, he wasn't sure if it was Tails being tired or the sight of the giant tree up ahead that took the little fox's mind off pounce attacks.

"_Wow_." Tails barely breathed the word, eyes huge. "That's a real big tree, huh Sonic?"

"Yeah, it is." Sonic stared at it. 'Real big' didn't seem to do it justice; it was large enough to have housed a respectably sized house inside.

"C'n we go inside?" Tails asked.

Sonic blinked. "What do you mean, inside?"

"Through there." Tails pointed carefully to where there was a hole carved into the trunk. It was too neat to be the work of normal erosion, Sonic realised. Maybe it was a tunnel leading through it...although if it was, he couldn't see the other side.

Shrugging, he led the way into it. To his amazement, it was completely and utterly hollow, and there was no way out that he could see.

At least, not one that he could easily get to. Light was spilling in from two similarly constructed holes up above, but they were far too high for Sonic to jump, and probably too far for Tails to fly him up as well.

_Pity Mighty isn't with us; he could plough through the other side in a matter of seconds,_ Sonic thought wryly.

He frowned slightly. Thinking of Mighty reminded him of a game they'd played as kids, one that might work here.

"Hey Tails!"

"Yup?"

Sonic pointed. "Think you could fly yourself up there?"

The little fox frowned. "Well...sure, but how're you gonna get up?"

Sonic grinned broadly. "Watch and learn, lil bro."

Turning, he walked out of the tree and up the hill leading away from it, then turned and raced back. As soon as he was inside, he leapt onto the wall and kicked off, sending himself up and towards the opposite side.

"_Cool_!" Tails flew up, timing his exit to coincide with Sonic's as they emerged from the tree a minute or so later, leaping down off the branch to land neatly on the ground.

Sonic paused for breath – Mighty had always been better at kicking his way up walls than him – then grinned broadly.

"Man, that was fun!"

"I'm hungry," Tails complained.

"We'll get some food later, squirt," Sonic promised absently. Looking around, he added, "Now where exactly are we?"

Tails took off, searching trees and bushes for something to eat, finally discovering a pella sapling and grabbing half a dozen of the small fruits, attempting to stuff as many into his mouth as he could.

"You wanna share those?" Sonic said pointedly.

Tails shook his head, beaming hugely and displaying half eaten pella in the process.

"Nuh uh! I'm hungry an' there's _loads_ in there you c'n eat, Sonic!"

Sonic gave up. Tails wasn't bad when it came to sharing, but whenever the little fox got seriously hungry, he had a tendency to revert to the semi-feral behaviour he'd displayed when Sonic had first met him. Living wild meant you didn't share; you took what you could and if anyone tried to get in your way, so much the worse for them.

Pushing his way through the bushes in search of his own meal, the hedgehog didn't see anything until he managed to find his way into a clearing, and then what he saw drove out all thoughts of food or anything else.

Sonic had never seen a bagpipe, else he might have compared the machine in front of him to one. It had the same kind of shape, if one could imagine a bagpipe with the pipes cut off and five separate jet engines keeping it in midair.

"What...?" He took a couple of cautious steps towards it and then, when it failed to do anything, put a tentative hand on the sleek surface.

As though this had been the signal, a hatch on top slid open and even as Sonic watched, several black ovoids erupted from the machine, spraying in all directions and exploding with the force of a small grenade wherever they landed.

"Sonic!" Small hands gripped the hedgehog's wrists and Tails took off, lifting the hedgehog above the ground as the grassfires sparked off by the bombs spread rapidly underneath them.

It was over remarkably quickly, and Sonic realised that the machine hadn't been aiming for him so much as the ground.

Tails lowered Sonic carefully to the path again, and the hedgehog had never been so grateful for it. Fire couldn't burn dirt, after all; so long as they stayed on the path, they'd be safe.

Well…safer, anyway.

All around them, the plains continued to blaze, combining with the now setting sun to stain the sky orange. Sonic didn't know a great deal about fires, but something inside said that this one was already beyond anyone's power to stop.

Tails fixed Sonic with a perplexed, oddly hurt look. "How come that big black ball machine wanted to blow us up, huh Sonic? How come?"

"I don't know. I think it was aiming for the ground."

Tails scratched his head. "But why'd it wanna blow the ground up? 'Cause then _everything_'d get blowed up with it, not just us."

Sonic shook his head. "I don't know," he said again. "I wish I did, though. It might help tell us who we're dealing with."

Tails scrunched his small snout up into a puzzled frown. "But we _know_ who we're dealing with, Sonic; it's ol' Robotnik, 'member?"

"We don't know that for sure, Tails," Sonic snapped, a little more curtly than he'd intended.

The little fox's ears drooped. _He_ liked the idea of whumping ol' Robotnik again – being five years old meant that all the horror and fear of such encounters was all but forgotten – but for some reason Sonic was getting...sad, was the best Tails could manage.

In fact, Sonic was afraid. Deathly afraid, and trying to conceal it. He wasn't doing a very good job of it, as could be seen by his snapping at Tails, but he thought the attempt ought to count for _something_.

Besides, all the time he was thinking of that he could put the reason behind his fear out of his mind; the thought that Robotnik might somehow be alive.

_Stop it. The Death Egg exploded, you got out, he didn't. End of discussion._

But if that was true, then why was he so worried?

"Sonic?" Tails pointed. "Sonic, what's that for?"

Following the little fox's finger, Sonic saw a bar hanging from a vine that was looped around another one, creating a kind of T-bar effect. If you grabbed onto it, chances were good you'd fly all the way down to the other side of the lake he could see below them.

A broad grin appeared on Sonic's face.

"Oh _yeah_!" Racing forward, he caught hold of the bar and pushed off, sliding down on the vine strung overhead. Curling up in the hopes that this would reduce air resistance, Sonic's speed increased until the landscape around him was nothing but a blur.

The trip came to a rather dramatic end when the trapeze reached a horizontal bar at the other end, clearly put there for the purposes of stopping it. It worked, after a fashion; Sonic's speed meant that any stopping had to be done gradually.

In other words, the vine attached to the trapeze collided with the bar and wrapped around and around on itself until the resultant physical laws sent Sonic arcing through the air to land on a ledge high up in the canopy.

"Wow." Getting to his feet and wandering around somewhat drunkenly, Sonic grinned. "That was beyond cool."

Looking around, he sobered up slightly; the bombs hadn't even spared this ledge. Eighteen inches to the left or right and Sonic would have been in the flames.

"Sonic!" Panting hard, Tails half landed, half crashed on top of Sonic, sending the hedgehog face down in the dirt. Sonic was about to protest this when he caught sight of what looked like a large monitor lying half hidden in a clump of ferns.

"What's that?"

"Huh?" Tails looked and scratched his head thoughtfully. "I dunno. Some kinda weird TV. It's broken though, see? It only shows one picture."

He was right about that, Sonic thought, studying the monitor and fire image it was displaying. There was a green button on top of the casing. Intrigued, the hedgehog pushed it.

He had to push it quite a few times and eventually leap up and down on it in frustration before it took (talk about stiff, Sonic thought) and the instant it _did_ take, the world around Sonic took on a shimmer, like he was looking through another layer of heat haze.

Speaking of heat, Sonic found that the surrounding flames no longer seemed hot, or even slightly warm.

_What was that? Some kind of fire protection_? Sonic grinned broadly. Well, it certainly made for a more comfortable journey. Maybe it was completely fireproof, although his curiosity wasn't strong enough for him to want to jump into the flames and find out.

"AAH! SONIC!" Tails spun on his heel and bolted before the surprised hedgehog had a chance to answer.

"Tails, wait!" Sonic sped after him, leaping down to the ground and finally skidding to a stop on the edge of a lake so vast he couldn't see the other side. He shuddered. There was no way he was getting in that one. He'd finally given into Tails' incessant badgering and allowed the little fox to give him a swimming lesson, which had been an unmitigated disaster from start to finish and hadn't taught Sonic anything except that he was right to be terrified of water and all its feral denizens.

Especially goldfish.

Tails emerged from the middle, still looking panicked.

"'Sokay, Sonic! Don't move! I'll save you!"

"_Save_ me?" Sonic said, baffled. "Save me from what?"

What felt like a mini-tsunami hit him full in the chest and Sonic leapt back, more startled than actually afraid.

Tails left off splashing – he'd turned around and used his namesakes as propellers to spray the hedgehog liberally from head to foot – and zipped over to examine his hero.

"Sonic! Sonic, are you okay? Sonic, please don't be dead, okay? Are you okay, Sonic? Sonic?"

"Tails…" Sonic disentangled the little fox's tight hug enough to drop down to Tails' eye level. "What was that all about?"

"You were burning, Sonic, when you smashed that box thing there was all this fire all around you an' you turned into a great big _ball _of fire an' I though you were gonna burn to death. You didn't, right Sonic?"

Sonic frowned. "What fire? Tails, I never saw any fire." A second look at the inferno currently raging to the right and left of him prompted him to add, "At least, not around me. What are you talking about?"

"It was all around you, Sonic, so I _had_ to put it out an' I know you hate water but I couldn't let you burn."

"I wasn't burning, kiddo. That was…was…" Sonic hesitated, not sure how to explain it. "It was some kind of fire shield, I guess you could call it."

"Oh. How come you don't got it now then?"

"Because _someone_, who's not a million miles away from me, put it out with the water in a certain _lake,_" Sonic said in mock-severe tones.

Tails, who had been backing away in an effort to put a million miles between him and Sonic and thereby prove that it couldn't have been him the hedgehog was talking about, let out an excited _Yip_ and spun around before darting into the undergrowth.

Sonic shook his head, grinning broadly. _Catch_ was one of Tails' favourite games, despite the little fox never being able to escape Sonic, and Tails had a tendency to try and play it whenever he thought it might get him out of trouble.

As though to remind him, Tails stuck his head out of a bush.

"Nyah nyah, can't catch me!"

"Wanna bet?" Sonic raced forwards and Tails vanished with a squeal, crashing through the foliage so loudly that the hedgehog could have caught him with his eyes shut.

He wasn't prepared for Tails' sudden stop, however, which was why he had to do a rather hasty jump to clear the little fox. Twisting in midair, he landed in front of him, a slight frown on his face.

"You okay?"

Tails pointed. "There's that bot again, Sonic, look."

Sonic looked and saw the same machine that had blasted the jungle.

He narrowed his eyes. "Let's put it out of commission for good, huh squirt?"

"_Yeah_!" Tails beamed and then, facial expression not changing one iota, he said, "What's commission?"

"Sorry. I meant, let's whump it."

"Okay!" Tails zipped forward, darting around the machine and pounding it hard for three minutes before coming back with a hurt look. "Sonic, I don't think it wants to be whumped."

As if in agreement, one of the cylinders on the front of the machine ignited, sending a roar of flame towards them. Sonic, whose reflexes were vastly quicker than Tails', caught hold of the little fox around the waist and bore him to the ground as the air was incinerated above them.

"_Sonic_!" Tails wriggled free. "We can't play the Pounce Attack Game _now_! We got a bot to whump!"

Was it worth trying to explain? With a feeling of weary resignation, Sonic rather doubted it and so he just said, "Sorry kiddo."

The bot rose into the air, and Sonic kept a wary eye on it, half expecting it to fire or drop more bombs.

Instead, all it did was glide over them (and Sonic wished he still had the fire shield; that would have made quick work of this) and come down on the opposite side, firing again before rising into the air a second time. To his surprise, Sonic saw that Tails was clinging determinedly to the underside and kicking hard.

"I don't think that's gonna work," Sonic called up to him.

"Sure it is! I jus' gotta...kick...real..._hard_!" Tails attempted to demonstrate, overbalanced and fell, namesakes both spinning furiously to keep him airborne.

_He had the right idea though_, Sonic thought. Right idea, wrong person.

He grinned suddenly, remembering the fight he and Robotnik had had in Bridge Zone a year ago. Sonic had managed to beat him more by luck than judgment, and he'd remembered the tactic for later use. Of course, Robotnik had remembered it too, which meant it was a lot harder to actually use it on _him_, but this bot was fair game.

Racing forward, Sonic leapt over the sudden roar of flame and came straight down on top of the machine, allowing his own gravity and momentum to send him bouncing up and down on it, like a psychotic ball. Back in Bridge Zone he'd had to worry about Robotnik submerging. Here though...there was nothing of that sort to worry about in the jungle.

Sonic continued going until he felt metal grinding around his quills and dropped to the floor before the machine could blow up on him. He'd learned that lesson the hard way.

As it turned out, it didn't do much more than spin around a few times, apparently going haywire, then crashed down to the ground, sparks flickering over it.

"C'mon." Sonic had seen this kind of thing before, and he had a nasty suspicion of what came next. Seizing Tails and swinging him up into his arms, he broke into a sprint, weaving in and out of trees.

He was half a mile away when the explosion hit, and a hundred yards further on before it picked him up and slam-dunked him into a lake. Choking, half blinded and panicking, Sonic floundered about in the water, thrashing desperately and yelling.

A small hand grabbed his and Tails pulled the hedgehog to the shore. Shivering, coughing, Sonic hauled himself up and onto dry land, where he turned and glared at the lake as though it had deliberately tried to drown him.

"You _gotta_ learn to swim now, right Sonic?" Tails said eagerly. Despite his very best efforts, Sonic had refused point blank to let the little fox give him another swimming lesson after what he insisted on referring to as The Goldfish Incident.

"_Wrong_," Sonic said firmly. "I have to stay as far away from water that's not in a glass or coming out of a shower as I possibly can!"

Tails shut his mouth with a snap. It was Wednesday today, and Wednesday was bath night. Well...if he kept real quiet, mebbe Sonic'd forget! He never had before, but Tails was nothing if not optimistic.

"But how you gonna get across this lake if you don't wanna swim, Sonic?"

"You can carry me, can't you?"

Tails shook his head. "Nuh uh! You gotta go in 'cause then you'll _have _to learn to swim!"

"Tails?" Sonic said very levelly.

"Yup?"

"You want to go without chocolate until you're eighteen?"

Tails looked stricken at the thought. "Nuh uh; no way!"

"Then let's go." Sonic squinted in the fading light. "I think there's a cave or something in there we can sleep in tonight."

"I'll go see!" Taking off, the little fox zoomed away into the gloom, returning a few minutes later to say, "Yup, it's a cave."

"Great. C'mon kiddo. Let's go."

Tails lifted Sonic into the air and the two of them headed for the niche in the rock ahead. It was further than Sonic had originally thought – distances really were deceiving at twilight – and Tails was gasping for breath by the time the two of them finally landed inside. He was asleep and snoring seconds later.

For Sonic, sleep was a lot longer coming and not just because he wanted to keep an eye out for the jerk who'd mugged him. He was hungry, he was itching – that maddening itch that comes with the lightest of burns – and above all he was trying not to think of what the presence of bots in this place could mean.

Not to mention that after his little sojourn into the lake his body had flooded itself with so much adrenaline that Sonic didn't think he could sleep even if he'd wanted to.

It was pitch black by the time he finally gave in and dropped next to Tails, whose paws were now twitching as he yipped occasionally in his sleep.

When Sonic woke up, the sun was just starting to rise. The fire seemed to have burned itself out (and a rock cave in the middle of a lake hadn't been such a bad place to sleep, Sonic thought wryly). It was still smouldering, and places were glowing slightly (and the sky was still that ominous orange, although perhaps that was partly due to the sunrise) but the hedgehog judged they were out of danger.

Reaching out, he shook Tails. "C'mon kiddo. We gotta get moving."

"Wha...?" Tails yawned hugely, focused groggy eyes on the hedgehog. "Sonic?"

"Yeah, it's me." Sonic lifted Tails to his feet. "Think you're up to a little exploring, squirt?"

Tails yawned again. "I'm real hungry, Sonic."

"Me too. Let's go find breakfast, huh?" Sonic glanced around. Maybe this cave led into a tunnel that would bring them out on the other side without having to go through that damn lake...

No such luck. The cave was a comfortable enough place to sleep in, but a dead end; empty except for...

"A switch!" Tails' face lit up, all thoughts of food and sleep forgotten. "C'mon Sonic, let's see what it does!"

Before the hedgehog had a chance to stop him, the little fox had scampered forward and bounced onto the switch in question.

There was a grinding sound and the earth started to vibrate very slightly. Half curious, half worried, Sonic peered out of the cave to see the water in the lake draining away and his face split into a broad grin.

"_Way_ cool!"

"Where's all the water going, Sonic?" Tails wanted to know, coming up next to him.

"I dunno, lil bro, but it's going and that's enough for me!" Sonic leapt back into the empty space where the lake had been and into a passage that led through the rock and out onto the plains on the other side.

A shadow fell across him as he emerged and Sonic looked up, half wary, half merely curious, straight into sleek metal. Even as the hedgehog watched, a hatch opened and something large, black and roughly spherical fell out.

Sonic's jaw dropped. "Tails, _run_!" He broke into a sprint, trying to go slow enough for Tails to keep up and still fast enough to outrun the mechanical monstrosity overhead.

"Huh? Oh. Okay." Tails raced forward obediently, using both namesakes for extra speed.

It wasn't enough. Sonic could see that even as the explosion caught hold of him and blasted him off his feet, the shockwaves on the opposite side catching Tails and sending him in the other direction.

Apparently not content with one bomb, the machine kept going, dropping explosive after explosive until Sonic's ears were numbed by the concussions.

Falling back – the hedgehog had rapidly come to the conclusion that attempting to outrun or match this battleship would probably only ensure that one of those bombs came down on him – Sonic dropped to his knees on the ground. The fire and heat both seemed to be sucking the oxygen out of the atmosphere and he sucked in breath hoarsely. He hadn't felt this starved of air since he'd fought Robotnik in Hill Top Zone, and very nearly got burned to death for the privilege.

Was this Robotnik's work? It was certainly destructive enough – and Sonic couldn't for the life of him think why that guy who had attacked him would want to destroy his own home – but Sonic was still clinging onto the rapidly dwindling hope that Robotnik was dead, managing to ignore all the bots as the work of their new acquaintance. After all, if a civilisation could build a shield to withstand fire damage, surely a few robots weren't that much of a challenge? In fact...yeah! Yeah, Robotnik had probably _come_ from this island, had probably known it was there, which was how this stranger would have known about the Chaos Emeralds...yes. Yes, that was it. It had to be.

The ship moved on. Like the machine currently lying around as scrap metal back in that clearing, it didn't seem to have been aiming for Sonic directly.

That much at least was a hopeful sign. If Robotnik had been behind it, he would have wanted to kill Sonic as quickly as possible.

"What…" Sonic said, or thought he did; after the recent cacophony of sound his voice sounded so faint in his ears he could barely hear it.

"Sonic, are you okay?" Tails landed next to Sonic and nudged his shoulder anxiously. Again, the fox's voice was audible, but only just.

"Yeah." Coughing, Sonic reached back and patted the little fox's hand with as much reassurance as he could muster. "But I think it's time we weren't here."

Getting to his feet, he headed off in the direction they'd been going, following the battleship. Not that he had any intention of boarding it or even catching it – he still woke up in a cold sweat every night remembering how he had almost died on board the Death Egg – but simply because it happened to be going in the same direction.

They walked in silence for about half an hour. Even the sudden appearance of another bot – this one a kind of metallic plant that spat spiked balls at them and the receding platforms that kept sliding behind a waterfall – wasn't enough to break that silence, although in fairness, this might partly have been due to Sonic's own mind-numbing terror both at the water and the similarity of the platforms here to the ones on the Wing Fortress where he'd come within an inch of falling.

Behind him, Tails nudged his new toy along with his foot. He'd managed to catch one of the plant-bot's spiky balls, and although Sonic had firmly refused to play Twenty Catches with it (jus' as well 'cause there wasn't a wall here _anywhere_) Tails had refused equally firmly to leave it behind. He didn't have many toys – that was the down side of hanging out with Sonic, who was always on the move – but the few he did have he was determined to keep.

They were out of the plains and into a more temperate forest area before Sonic stopped walking, and then it was only because he thought he'd seen a familiar figure darting through the trees in his Egg-O-Matic. When he looked back a second later, it was gone.

Sonic stared, then shook his head. No, he was seeing things. He had to be! Robotnik couldn't have survived the Death Egg's explosion, couldn't still be alive! He _couldn't_!

Could he?

They came to a log bridge and Sonic hesitated. If he was wrong...but no, he had to be imagining it. Otherwise Tails would have spotted Robotnik, surely?

As they stepped onto the bridge, which held firm beneath them, Sonic froze, not entirely due to the amount of water nearby.

He'd heard something, something that sounded a lot like a motor. And the only motorised vehicle up here would be Robotnik's.

"Tails?" Sonic licked dry lips. "Tails, do you hear something?"

"Yup!"

"What?"

"Well..." The little fox scrunched up his face in thought as he ticked items off on his fingers. "I c'n hear birds an' running water an' that kinda crackly fire sound from back there. Why?"

Sonic looked edgy. "You don't hear anything like a...a motor?"

"A motor?" Tails frowned. "You mean...like a hovercar?"

Of course! Relief exploded in Sonic and he laughed with the rush of it. Just because he hadn't seen hovercars around didn't mean there weren't any. The island had to be inhabited, after all; there must be some kind of civilisation. His mugger had proved that much when they'd arrived.

Granted Sonic hadn't seen any sign of any hovercars in the jungle, but then unless you had a bladed six-by-two, it was so thick in there that you couldn't get a bike through it, never mind a car. Hell, Sonic himself had had to serve as a machete on more than one occasion, spindashing his way through the thicker plants before he and Tails could proceed.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right." Sonic laughed again. "Man, I thought it was Robotnik. Guess I've been overdoing it lately, huh squirt?"

Tails opened his mouth to answer but at that point something large, sleekly metallic and particularly deadly looking slid out from behind the waterfall.

Seeing the creature inside the machine, Sonic took half a step back, shaking his head, horror warring with fear.

"No..."

Robotnik nodded to him. "Good morning, Sonic. How's things?"

"Robotnik?" The tense incredulity of Sonic's voice didn't go unnoticed by the doctor, who smiled. "You're still _alive_?"

"Oh, very much so." Robotnik's tone and demeanour bespoke a man who'd just received the best news in the world, and who wanted to clobber someone else with it. "Of course, I could say the same about you; you weren't in the best state of health after our last fight, were you?"

"You tried to kill me."

"Haven't you heard, Sonic?" Now Robotnik wore a parody of astonishment, a cruel mockery of Sonic's words to him back on the Death Egg. "I'm Dr Ivo Robotnik. It's what I do."

Tails squinted at the doctor. "I didn't know your first name was Ivy."

"Actually, it's—" Sonic began.

"Enough!" One of the cannons rotated smoothly around and Robotnik fired, sending a plasma ball the same size as Sonic into the bridge behind them, cutting off their retreat.

"Bet you wished you could swim _now_, huh Sonic?" Tails said, peering over the edge of the plateau they were standing on to the water below.

"I couldn't have said it better myslf," Robotnik drawled.

Sonic leapt for him, but the doctor simply vanished behind the waterfall. The hedgehog could make out his enemy's vague shape behind the tumbling water and kept pace with him, waiting.

_He can't fire plasma at me through water. He's got to come back through at some point..._

Sonic didn't have long to wait. Before he'd made more than two trips back and forth across the ground, Robotnik was back, this time directly overhead. Aiming both cannons down, he fired.

"Anyone ever suggest putting weapons on the underside?" Sonic yelled up from between the weapons in question.

Robotnik cursed. Luring Sonic to this place had been one of his better ideas, but despite a promising start, it hadn't quite panned out as he'd expected. The hedgehog was a chronic hydrophobe surrounded by water...he was supposed to be _terrified_, not acting like the doctor was nothing more than a hair in his food!

Was it possible Sonic had overcome his fear? No, Robotnik decided; after all, when he'd been Kintobor, he'd tried everything to help cure Sonic. Nothing had worked and in the end he'd simply given up.

The hedgehog darted out from underneath and stood in front of him, mocking him, an easy target.

"C'mon doc! What's the matter, run outta plasma?" Inwardly Sonic was practically screaming with a combination of terror and exhilaration, while a smaller, more rational side of him was saying something along the lines of, _I've missed this_.

_Yeah_, Sonic thought, the realisation stunning him, _I really have_. Looking after Tails was all very well, but when he'd been fighting Robotnik before...the edge, the buzz...he'd started to enjoy their battles before that fateful raid on the Wing Fortress and the Death Egg. Not look forward to them – he wasn't that far gone – but Robotnik had been an opponent who could actually _challenge_ Sonic, almost on the hedgehog's own terms.

Robotnik pushed a button, firing again. Dodging this blast almost sent Sonic off the edge, and, the doctor noticed with considerable satisfaction, wiped that annoyingly cocky smile off his face.

Oddly enough though, once he'd gotten over the shock of seeing his nemesis alive and well, Sonic wasn't as terrified as he'd expected to be. Robotnik's machine was larger and more intimidating than his normal Egg-O-Matic, but it was also a reasonably known quantity. If Sonic kept his head, he thought he could probably finish it off without too much trouble.

Darting around another shot, he leapt up and burrowed into the Egg-O-Matic, getting all of eighteen inches into it before Robotnik moved up and the suddenness of the motion dislodged the hedgehog.

Like Robotnik, however, Sonic had reckoned without Tails. Before either had a chance to blink, the little fox had catapulted himself into the air holding a rock, landed on top of the machine and was vigorously pounding the control panel, Robotnik and occasionally his own fingers with it.

"You leave Sonic alone! He's already been burned real bad by that firey thing an' so you _can't_ try an' whump him now 'cause that's not fair!"

Robotnik shot out a hand and seized the little fox around the throat, squeezing gently as he forced Tails' rock out of the little fox's grasp and held it above his head.

"You really have pushed me too far, little cub." His voice was as calm as ever, yet there was a dangerous tone that Tails picked up on instantly even as he struggled for air.

"Robotnik, no!"

The doctor smirked. "Want to bargain, Sonic? You're too late." The grip intensified and Tails grabbed his arm, trying to move it away from his throat. He might as well have tried to move a mountain.

Robotnik continued. "The only question now is, do I strangle him slowly and watch his little legs wiggle in the air, or do I just bash him over the head and let him die painfully while his brains and cerebrospinal fluid leak out onto the ground?" His smirk broadened into a grin. "Decisions, decisions. Maybe I'll do both."

"Robotnik, I won't touch your machine, I swear; just don't hurt him!" Sonic leapt for the machine, only to find that it was out of reach.

"What did you say, Sonic?" Robotnik asked. "I don't think I quite heard you." He tightened the grip and Tails let out a choked squeal.

"Let him go! I won't fight you, you can go and repair the machine, do whatever you like, just let Tails go! _Please_!"

"Hm." The smile broadened. "Alright, Sonic, since I'm a generous hearted man, and since I've recently had something of a breakthrough in my latest device, I'll grant your request. If you ask me _very_ nicely."

"What do you want me to do, beg?" There was a hysterical note in Sonic's voice now. "I'll do it, Robotnik, I swear I'll do it, just let him go before you _kill_ him!"

Tails' body abruptly went limp, and Robotnik's smile became a huge grin. "Too late." He shrugged. "Ah well, better luck next time. Here, catch."

He threw the little fox at the cliff and Tails crashed into the rock with shattering force, sliding down to slump motionless at the base of it.

"Goodbye for now, Sonic," Robotnik added. "I'm sure I'll see you again very soon."

"Not if I see you first," Sonic said very quietly. He couldn't take his eyes off Tails' form, not least because he thought he could see the little fox's ribs rising and falling.

Robotnik's parting "Of course" was barely audible as he accelerated away behind the waterfall, and Sonic wouldn't have cared if he'd heard it anyway; all his attention was focused on Tails.

"Tails? Squirt, are you okay?" Reaching down, Sonic nudged his shoulder experimentally. "Tails?"

The little fox opened one big blue eye and peeked up at Sonic. "Is he gone?"

"Tails…" This wasn't the first time Sonic had seen the little fox apparently come back from the dead and he just shook his head, staring. "What was that all about?"

Tails shrugged. "I pretended I was dead, Sonic. Like I used to do when Caud an' his friends pounded on me. I'd go all floppy an' they'd leave me alone. 'Course, they never tried to strangle me." A shimmer crept into Tails' eyes and his chest hitched. "An' they never threw me into a rock, Sonic, not _never_."

"I know. I know. C'mere lil bro." Sonic sat down and pulled Tails into a tight hug, rocking him, feeling hot tears soak his fur.

"Not crying, Sonic!" Tails pointed out, somewhat indistinctly and not at all truthfully.

"No, I know. You're just…just…" Sonic cast about for a word and settled on, "sniffling, right?"

A vigorous nod. "Uh huh, 'cause I'm a big kid an' big kids don't cry."

"Really big kids cry, kiddo. You'll learn that one day."

Tails hiccupped and wiped his eyes on Sonic's chest fur before looking up and saying, "But I'm not a _really_ big kid, Sonic, jus' a big kid, an' so I'm _not_ crying."

"Okay, if you say so." Sonic winked. "C'mon squirt. Let's see what else is on this island."

"_Yeah_!" Scrambling to his feet, Tails seized Sonic's hand and hauled him upright, refusing to let go as they walked along.

"What's _he_ doing here anyway?" Tails demanded belligerently.

Sonic didn't bother asking who _he_ was. "I dunno, lil bro, but it can't be good for us." The hedgehog's body was tingling with adrenaline, every strand of his fur standing on end. There was also a good deal of exhilaration in there; he'd survived! Not only that, he'd survived with barely a scratch to himself and Tails was okay! A little bruised, admittedly, but still okay.

Still…just how had Robotnik survived the explosion?

Well, there was going to be only one way to find out, and that was to track him down. Looking up, Sonic saw a high ledge in front of them, too high to jump up.

"Think you could fly me up there, squirt?"

Tails frowned. "Well, I could, Sonic, but don't you think we better wait until he's gone?"

"Robotnik's up there?"

"Nuh uh. I mean him." Tails pointed up to the ledge, to a switch that was resting on top. Sonic followed his gaze, saw the same red creature who had stolen his Chaos Emeralds standing next to that switch, looked back down at the bridge and then up at the creature again and felt the blood drain from his face, taking a good deal of his newfound exhilaration with it.

"Oh no..."

The stranger snickered quietly. "Oh _yes_."

He stepped on the switch and the bridge dropped out from underneath, sending the two of them plummeting into the chasm.

**Okay. I've had quite a few people ask me if I'm going to do pure Sonic and Tails, or Sonic and Tails interspersed with the occasional chapter from Knuckles' POV (though these would be shorter than the Sonic and Tails Zones; kind of his reflections on what had gone on so far).**

**I'm happy doing either, so I'm going to throw this one open for you guys to decide (either via reviews or PMs). Do you want a strict adaptation of the game (pure Sonic and Tails), or do you want a more flexible version where you'll get to see more of Knuckles and his view on things after each Zone?**

**Anyway, that's Angel Island Zone completed ;) Hope you enjoyed it and if you read, please review (and a big thankyou to shadow-spawn180 for allowing me to use aspects from his story _Swimming Lessons_)**

**And speaking of reviewing, if you haven't signed the petition allowing authors to reply to reviewers in their chapters then please sign now; you can find the link at the top of my profile (Don't worry; I'm not gonna use every chapter to campaign for signatures…this is the only one, promise ;))**


	3. Alliance

**Pyrokinetics: I will, don't worry ;)**

**Professor Vengeance: (blushes) Thanks; I'm glad you think so :D As for the names...okay, I'll bring them back :P**

**Gameorama91: I'll try. Adaptations take the longest to do because of all the cross-referencing (and the Zones here are huge; I keep playing and replaying and I'm still finding new things :P) I'd rather take longer and give you a good chapter than rush it and update shoddy ones every week ;)**

**Pyro Hedgehog4Ever: Thanks, glad you liked it :D**

**Shadow-spawn180: Thanks :) Hydrocity...yeah, I almost feel sorry for Sonic :P (Actually, there's no almost about it; I do) Knuckles or pure Sonic & Tails...hmm. Okay, I've decided ;)**

**Tucker's Mayflower: (envelops protest mob and all petition signers in group hug and hands around more chocolate Sonic characters) Thankyou! As to the Knuckles question...it's going to be an 'every other' deal...ie, one Knux followed by Sonic and Tails' Zone followed by Knux's thoughts on the Zone and what happened and...well, you get the idea ;)**

**RiverAiden: Your dare is taken; read on ;)**

**DragonUk: Thanks :P As far as the petition goes...well, at least we're trying ;) And...you wanted Knuckles, you got Knuckles...**

**Forgotten Muse: I know, bless him :P Little Tails...**

**Dr Namgge: Well, that's two for Robotnik's POV :P I think it kind of coincides with Knuckles' (at least the way I'm planning it) so here goes...**

**Poridet: Thanks :) And...well, Robotnik is evil, end of story ;)**

**SonicTails123: Ah yes, the innocence of Tails :P As to the rest...well, the majority seem to want Knux and Robotnik every now and again, so that's what it's gonna be ;)**

**Matt Lans: Yeah, it was ;) Super or Chaos Emeralds...you'll have to wait and see ;)**

**Ice the Rabbit: Thanks :D As far as Tails' recovery goes...maybe I better let him explain it in his own words (_Tails: Ha! Ol' Robotnik can't keep me whumped 'cause I'm with Sonic an' Sonic whumps ev'ryone! An' 'sides, Sonic's cool an' I don't wanna cry an' neither does he so it didn't hurt that much!_) Erm...maybe that was a mistake ;) Basically I think what he's saying is that he doesn't want to appear weak to Sonic. After everything he's been through already, I think he's pretty resilient ;)**

**Wrong light: Thanks :) As for the rest...well, I PM-ed you on that score ;)**

**Milette Tails Prower: Thanks :D Knuckles...it's gonna be every other chapter (it's easier to get his thoughts on a Zone after that Zone rather than try and amalgamate two Zones into one, if that makes sense ;)) And yes, this is S3&K**

**Private somebody: Heh, glad you liked it ;) Tails with the fire shield...well, I think it's probably the kinda thing he'd do. As for Hydrocity and the water shield, you'll find out soon :P**

**Awdures: Thanks :) And you wanted Knuckles...read on ;)**

**Maverick87: Thanks, I'll try :P **

**TC Chan: Thanks :D And there will be chapters with Knux in (although they won't be on the 'playable' side of him, if that makes sense ;)) As for that little line in the last chapter...yep, it's fixed ;) Thanks for pointing it out :D**

Robotnik studied his newly redesigned Egg-O-Matic. He thought it would probably be up to the task of destroying that pesky hedgehog.

Then again, he'd been thinking the same thing for some time now.

At least here he had time to take it for a test run. There were lakes nearby that he could use to try it out on...yes, that would work nicely.

Getting to his feet, Robotnik wiped oily hands on the seat of his pants and clambered into his vehicle, feeling for the ignition.

There was a soft thump from off to the left and a voice said, "You screwed up."

Emerging from under the wheel, Robotnik turned to face the same person who had attacked Sonic and spread his hands to the side.

"My dear Knuckles—"

"Don't patronise me, creature," the one called Knuckles snarled. "I'm not your _dear_ anything."

The doctor shrugged. "I did warn you about Sonic. He's crazy. He stole the Chaos Emeralds from me and now he wants to steal the Master Emerald."

"Right..." Knuckles narrowed his eyes. "And you're just telling me this out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Quite so." Seeing the suspicion on the echidna's face, Robotnik added, "Sonic's heading straight for the Master Emerald. He knows all about it and wants it for himself. Please, Knuckles, you have to believe me! When Sonic gets an idea into his head he'll stop at nothing to see it through, and when he's so fast and so powerful, who can hope to stop him?"

"Apparently not you." Knuckles' eyes narrowed further. "Your little display back there didn't exactly impress me."

"My sights were off," Robotnik said, almost sulkily.

"You _missed_," Knuckles corrected him. He shook his head. "How? Your plasma balls were easily the same size as that hedgehog. _How_ could you miss him?"

Robotnik bristled. "Well, the aiming, the recoil and the relative distance—"

"What distance? He was six feet away from you!" Knuckles paused. "And I'm still not convinced you're all that honest," he added. "The hedgehog could have attacked me when I was dispersing the Chaos Emeralds. He didn't, and neither did his friend."

"I imagine Sonic was so stunned that you had actually managed to penetrate his super form that he _couldn't _react," Robotnik said. He'd experienced much the same thing.

"No, I think he recovered well enough, or if he didn't then his friend did." Knuckles paused, remembering that encounter. He'd encountered anger, determination, even hatred and resentment while fighting off the odd potential thief, but indignation was a new one on him.

Not that he had much experience in dealing with thieves. Since nobody knew about or even believed in Angel Island, nobody ever came by. There had been that armadillo, but he hardly counted; all he'd wanted to do was fix his plane and get away. Just as well really, since he'd been the only person Knuckles had ever lost a contest of physical strength to.

"Sonic was trying to lull you into a false sense of security." Robotnik's voice clashed in the echidna's ears, jerking him back to the present. "Don't you see?"

"No." Knuckles leapt onto Robotnik's machine and clambered up it, putting the doctor in a headlock and placing a clenched fist at his ear. "I listened to you in the beginning because I was in a hurry to take back those Chaos Emeralds. Now the hedgehog no longer has them, I want explanations. Start talking. _Now_."

Robotnik nodded readily. "Yes. Alright." He coughed. "Everything is Sonic's fault."

The hold intensified. "Be more specific."

"Alright. Sonic is trying to take over the world. He's a cruel, ruthless, arrogant little rodent who thinks he's something special because of his speed and intelligence."

"What about that giant machine?"

"What giant machine?" Robotnik said innocently.

"The..." Knuckles' scientific vocabulary failed him. "It looks like a metal ball." The arms dropped away from Robotnik's throat as he added more quietly, "But it's huge. I've never seen anything so large."

"Sonic is a mechanical genius," Robotnik said. "He built that giant machine and he was going to use it to terrify the planet into submission. I managed to board it and tried to stop him, but he was too powerful for me and in the end all I could do was crash it and force him to jump. I imagine he'll be looking for the Death Egg."

Disbelief registered hugely on Knuckles' face. "The _what_?"

Robotnik shrugged. "That's what Sonic calls it."

"What kind of dumbass moron names their devices after _eggs_?"

"...Absurd, isn't it?" Robotnik agreed, after a short pause.

"And the other machine?"

"What other machine?"

Knuckles folded his arms. "The one that bombed my island!"

"Oh, _that_ machine." Robotnik shrugged. "I took care of it. At least, one of them. The airship remains, despite my best efforts, out of my grasp, but the black one is no more."

"I know. I saw Sonic destroy it." The echidna raised an eye ridge. "You want to tell me why Sonic destroyed his own creation."

"Actually, I'm not sure that—"

"That was a statement, not a suggestion. Talk."

The doctor pasted a modest expression on his face. "Well, I confess that I have some small skill in scientific engineering myself. I was able to reprogram that bomber and the other bots which Sonic created thanks to a copy of his blueprints one of my friends obtained."

Knuckles raised an eye ridge. "Where is this friend?"

Robotnik replaced the modest look with a dark one, intimating that the truth was too painful for him to talk about in any great detail.

"Ah...sadly, he did not survive. One of Sonic's machines shot him with a deadly poison dart, and despite everyone's best efforts, we were unable to devise a cure in time."

"Show me these blueprints," Knuckles commanded.

Robotnik held up a finger. "Of course. One moment." Swearing inwardly, he ducked his head into the glove compartment, searching for an issue of _Science Weekly _that could pass muster before pulling the topmost one out and displaying it.

Knuckles stared at it, then shifted cold eyes to Robotnik.

"One hundred and one exciting and fun things to do with electromagnets? Secrets revealed; the truth behind meteor fragments?"

Robotnik shrugged. "Sonic was furious when he found out he'd lost his blueprints. He sent his bots out to search every person, every house on Mobius in an effort to recover them. I have contacts with the publishing house that produces this magazine, and so they agreed to conceal it inside their latest issue. With the greatest possible respect, you don't need to see the blueprints for something to destroy it."

The echidna ripped the magazine in two and handed it back to him. "Obviously. From what I could see though, Sonic was as surprised as I was when that machine spat bombs out."

"He is an extremely proficient actor. Didn't you see what he did before that happened?"

Knuckles cast his mind back, trying to remember. "As far as I saw, all he did was touch it."

Robotnik shook his head. "That's only the half of it, Guardian. That machine was keyed into a hand scanner; as soon as it got Sonic's handprint, it fired the bombs. You must have noticed that the machine didn't do anything until Sonic touched it."

"That's true," Knuckles admitted reluctantly, after a long pause.

"And you saw how hard it was for me to defeat him in a fair fight."

The echidna's eyes flashed. "I saw you try to strangle that cub."

Robotnik shook his head, mind working furiously as he did so, inventing a story so quickly the pause was barely discernible.

"That's no cub. That's a mechanical slave Sonic built. You can destroy it, Guardian. Destroy it and free the poor animal trapped inside."

That got Knuckles' attention. "What do you mean? What animal?"

"That's how Sonic works. He traps helpless people and plugs them into his robots, and forces them to act as a kind of living power source."

The echidna narrowed his eyes. "How do you know all this?"

Robotnik spread his hands to the side helplessly. "Everyone knows it, Guardian. In the case of the fox, it's obvious from the name. After all, don't you think that naming people based on an unusual prominent feature is an outdated and somewhat primitive custom?"

Knuckles looked at him oddly, and more than a little coldly. "No."

"Present company excepted, of course," Robotnik added in respectful tones. "In your case, of course, Knuckles simply happens to be the Mobian translation of your name in the echidna dialect."

"What dialect?" Knuckles said tightly.

Robotnik smiled at him. "Sagayan, of course. I believe its official designation in all the records is _majjin bi-Sagayan_, which would literally translate into Mobian as 'language of the echidna race'." The doctor paused. "I believe your real name would be something like...let me see..."

"Enough." The Sagayan dialect was a closely guarded secret; an echidna would never even mention it – let alone use it – in front of non-echidnas unless their emotions and strength of feeling got the better of them. Knuckles wasn't too happy at the thought that an outsider even knew of its existence, much less was able to speak it. "Tell me why I should continue helping you."

"Because by helping me, you'd be helping yourself," Robotnik said humbly. "If the hedgehog takes the Master Emerald, Angel Island is going to fall, isn't it?" Pausing, he added, "I swear on the souls of my ancestors that this is no trick."

Knuckles was silent. Robotnik's oath was no mere flowery phrase; in echidna culture, anything sworn by that particular vow couldn't be a lie. It was on a par to swearing something by the Master Emerald itself.

"Let's put our cards on the table, shall we?" Robotnik added, careful to keep his tone respectful. Part of that was through needing to keep the echidna in his camp, but part of it was very real. If it came down to a fight, with his machine currently semi-dismantled and in no condition to fly anywhere, Knuckles could snap Robotnik's neck with no more than a casual swipe of his fist.

The echidna narrowed his eyes. "You first."

"Very well." Robotnik leaned back in his seat and wiped a hand across his forehead, leaving a smear of grease behind. "I have a duty to protect the lives of innocents down on the surface, Knuckles, much as you have a duty to protect the Master Emerald. I will go after Sonic and his creations, and I will do it with or without your help. But if you do continue helping me, you'll have the added satisfaction of knowing you helped bring a vicious, hardened criminal overlord to justice."

Knuckles' eyes snapped fire at him and Robotnik realised too late that he'd miscalculated.

"Do _not_ presume to tell me how to feel about _anything_, creature, or make the mistake of assuming that I care what happens to you or the rest of those grubbers on the surface! You and your counterparts are _nothing_ to me or my people!"

Robotnik's expression changed, became slightly more sympathetic. "Your people? I was under the impression that you were the last of the echidnas." When Knuckles remained stubbornly silent, he continued. "I do need your help. If I could gain access to the whole of the Island – not counting the Master Emerald shrine, of course – then together we may be able to stop Sonic." Robotnik paused. "On that front, there is one piece of information you may find interesting."

Knuckles paused. "What?"

"Sonic can't swim. In fact he's terrified of water. You may be able to use that."

A cold gleam appeared in the echidna's eyes. "Terrified of water, is he? A pity he's heading for Hydrocity, then."

Robotnik smiled slightly. "Isn't it? And – if I might presume upon your time a little more – I would appreciate being shown the quickest route to the city exit. I highly doubt Sonic is going to survive long enough to find me down there, but I believe in being prepared."

Knuckles considered his options, then nodded once, curtly. If the doctor was telling the truth, it wouldn't hurt to be ready for Sonic, and if not, then the pair of them could just fight the hell out of each other and the echidna could step in and deal with the victor afterwards.

"Follow me."

**So there you have it; the first Knux (and Robotnik) chapter! More will be along soon (it's gonna be Sonic/Tails – Knuckles/Robotnik for most of the story). In the meantime, on to Hydrocity!**


	4. Hydrocity Zone

**Awdures: Heh, thanks :D Knuckles...yeah, he's gullible, but he's not **_**that**_** gullible ;)**

**Poridet: Thanks, glad you liked it ;)**

**Dr Namgge: Thanks. As for having Knuckles after each Zone...I think I'll manage ;)**

**Milette Tails Prower: Yep, two in one ;) Actually, I finished Chapter 14 of **_**Void**_** yesterday; my server just wouldn't let me in to upload it :P Knuckles...he's thirteen in this adaptation (in keeping with Sonic recently turning twelve and Tails being five ;))**

**Pyrokinetics: Thanks ;) (**_**Knuckles: I want a stunt double**_

**Ice the Rabbit: Thanks :D Knuckles...well, I think he is pretty honourable, even if he is something of a hothead as well ;) And yeah, Robotnik attributing some of his own character traits to Sonic was pretty ironic :P**

**SonicRules12: Thanks. The start…to be honest, I'm not sure what else could have been added. There's no possible extension (as there was in **_**Rising Star**_** to cover the whole when-Sonic-met-Tails angle). The only really new character is Knuckles, and the only way to introduce him is to get Sonic and Tails to Angel Island ASAP ;) And no, I don't consider the relationship between Knuckles and Robotnik to be simple-minded at all, bearing in mind the echidna didn't take Robotnik's words at face value (okay, so he believed him in the end, but he did challenge most of what Robotnik said)**

**Private somebody: Yeah, Knux really is distrusting ;) (raises eyebrows) As for the Guardian's Log...you really want it in this story? ;)**

**TC Chan: Heh...that's kinda what I was going for :P Then again, I am a huge Knux fan ;) As to when Knux becomes 'good'...I don't think there's one main point when he suddenly switches sides, but yes, I do know when it's going to happen ;)**

**Matt Lans: Yeah, I think you're right. Poor Knuckles...;)**

**Feniiku: Thanks :D As for the petition...well, fingers crossed :)**

**SonicTails123: Glad to hear it ;) And Sonic's hydrophobia...yeah, I think that's going to be something of a problem in this chapter :P**

**Guardian Angel of Haven City: Thanks. Yeah, I'm a Knuckles fanatic as well :P**

**Maverick87: Thanks :D**

The dark passages of Hydrocity had lain undisturbed for decades. It had never been designed for habitation; the echidna race had built it as a kind of final line of defence, and although the machines and security measures still worked perfectly, Hydrocity itself lay in perfect silence.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Well, almost.

"YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Sonic bounced off a jutting platform, caught sight of the water below him and started again.

"WAAAAAAAAUUU—"

_Ker-PLOONK_!

Water rushed into Sonic's ears and up his nose as his yell continued to escape in a cloud of large, soundless bubbles. Thrashing wildly, he managed to move two feet to the left more by panicked determination than skill, and narrowly missed impaling himself on a set of spikes.

Two small hands grabbed him by the wrist and Tails pulled hard, dragging Sonic through the water until the hedgehog's head broke the surface. Choking, spluttering and gasping for breath, Sonic clung as tightly as he could to the little fox, shivering.

"'Sokay Sonic," Tails said patiently, despite the fact that Sonic's grip was likely to drag them both under before too long. "I'm not gonna drop ya."

Kicking hard, he broke free of the water and carried the hedgehog up into the air, depositing him on a platform high above the water. Sonic coughed and then rolled over to push himself away from the water as though he thought it was going to rise up and swamp him, shaking all over.

"Where the hell are we?"

"Erm..." Tails peered over the edge. "I dunno 'zactly, Sonic, 'cause it's kinda dark, but I think we're way above an underwater maze."

Sonic's brain took in the comment about underwater maze, circled it in red and compared it to Labyrinth Zone, then drew a massive X through both and informed Sonic's body that there was no way in hell its muscles were going to be allowed to drag it through another experience like _that_, thankyou very much!

"That jerk!" Sonic was still shivering. "That low-down, sneaky, treacherous _jerk_! When I next see that guy, I'm gonna punch him so hard…!" He let the sentence trail off dramatically.

"Boy, he's really gonna get it, huh Sonic?"

"Yeah, you bet." Sonic glared up at the small bar of light that was the surface. "Can you fly me back up there?"

The little fox shook his head. "Nuh uh. It's too far." Something struck him as funny and he giggled.

"What?" Sonic said edgily.

"Well, 's jus'…you're gonna _have_ to learn to swim now, huh Sonic?"

Sonic gritted his teeth. "Tails, _no_. I'm not good with water, remember?"

There was a pause, then Tails padded over, sat down, wrapped both namesakes around his haunches and looked up into Sonic's face, blue eyes as big and appealing as he could make them.

The hedgehog grimaced. "And looking cute isn't going to work either."

"How come not?" Tails bounded to his feet, puzzled and indignant. Looking cute had never failed him before. "And how come you don't wanna go in that water, Sonic? Are you still scared of goldfish?"

Sonic folded his arms. "I am not _still_ scared of goldfish, Tails. I have _never_ been scared of goldfish."

Tails giggled again. "Well, you sure looked scared back in Aquatic Ruin."

The hedgehog closed his eyes with a groan and dropped back into a reclining position. "I'm never gonna live that one down, am I?"

"Nope!" Tails scratched his head as he considered. "An' there's prob'ly _millions_ in a huge place like this, Sonic, millions an' billions an' trillions an' mebbe even _squillions_!"

"Squillions of goldfish I could cope with, lil bro. It's the giant robot sharks Robotnik has probably dumped in there which bug me."

"Robot sharks?" Tails' face lit up. "_Cool_! Prob'ly they'll have _loadsa_ teeth an' claws an' hedgehog seeking lasers an' swim real fast while shooting zoomy missiles of _doom _at you, huh Sonic?"

"You are _not helping_," Sonic informed the enthusiastic little fox through clenched teeth.

Tails sighed gustily and sat down on the edge, kicking his feet. "But how _come_ you don't like water, Sonic? I wanna know."

"I…" Sonic paused. The truth was that he didn't know why he hated water so much. He couldn't even blame it on Robotnik; his hydrophobia had been in place long before the doctor had arrived on the scene.

"You what?" Tails persisted. Sonic racked his brains and then decided to try and explain it in terms the little fox could understand.

"Because I can't run fast in water, squirt, and I can't hear any bots that might be coming up behind me. I could get whumped and not know it."

Tails giggled. "You can't get whumped, 'cause you're the coolest blue guy on all _Mobius_!"

The coolest blue guy on all Mobius rolled his eyes. "Tails, do we really need to go through this again? Me. Pedestal. You. _Not_ good mix!"

"What?"

Sonic sighed. "Never mind. Look, can you fly down and see if there's a way out that doesn't involve H2O?"

"What's that?"

"Water. See if we can get out without me getting wet."

Tails frowned as he studied Sonic. "But you're already wet, Sonic."

"Wet_ter_, then. See if we can get out without me getting wet_ter_." Sonic gave Tails a not-quite playful shove towards the edge. "Scoot."

Tails scooted, checking the walls and finally diving underwater before coming back up to say, "'S no good, Sonic, you're gonna hafta go back in the water."

"Check again, okay?" Sonic peered over the edge at the water in question, then drew back with a shudder.

"Are you gonna curl up in a ball?" Tails wanted to know eagerly. "'Cause I heard hedgehogs do that when they're real scared an' I wanna see!"

Sonic shrugged. Curling up in a ball in fear was rarely done by Mobian hedgehogs older than about three unless there were extreme circumstances, and he himself never did it except to spindash, but if it kept him out the water for a few minutes longer then he was all for it.

"Okay." He couldn't do as good a job of it as before – his bladed quills meant there were far fewer spikes sticking out – but Tails could still get the basic idea, and so Sonic rolled himself into a ball obligingly.

In the years that followed, he would wonder how he could have been so stupid. Granted he believed Tails when the little fox claimed he hadn't _meant_ for it to happen, but still...Sonic had already learned that if you gave a hyperactive five year old fox cub a huge ball, he really only knew one way to react.

A hard push caught Sonic off guard, and he uncurled enough to say something along the lines of, "Hey, watch it!" when he noticed the platform and Tails' suddenly stricken face both seemed to be getting a long way off.

Then he hit the water for the second time that day.

In fact, this is only slightly accurate; he hit the water, landed on a switch hard enough to press it all the way down and ended up being sucked along in a ferocious current that crashed through the masonry at the far end and sent Sonic flying out the resultant hole.

Any relief that the hedgehog may have felt at being out of the water again was quickly suppressed as he caught sight of the vast lake underneath and opened his mouth to yell.

Tails, who had followed Sonic into the water with the aim of apologising and wound up following him down the tunnel because the current had caught hold of him, seized Sonic's wrists and towed him upwards, flying the hedgehog through the air and into a niche in the wall. Dumping him somewhat unceremoniously on the floor, Tails then proceeded to bury Sonic in a hug so tight the hedgehog felt his ribs creak.

"I'm real sorry, Sonic. I didn't mean to push you, _honest._ Least, I didn't mean to push you into the water."

The little fox looked so appealing and terrified of the hedgehog's likely reaction that Sonic found he couldn't stay angry with him and so he returned the hug.

"It's okay, buddy."

Tails hiccupped suspiciously. "You're not mad at me?"

"No. No, I'm not mad at you. Why'd you bring me up here, squirt?"

"'Cause of that." Tails pointed to a monitor similar to the one Sonic had shattered back up on the surface. Instead of fire, however, this one showed a picture of a drop of liquid.

"What's that?"

"I dunno, Sonic, but the fire one made you not get hurt by fire, so I thought that mebbe the water one'd make you not scared of water or make you float or something."

Sonic brightened. That was a tempting thought, to go back into water without worrying about sinking.

Well, the other one hadn't hurt, right? It was worth a try...the hedgehog punched the button hard, then winced and tried to rub some feeling back into his knuckles. It had worked though; he was now encased in what looked and felt like a very thick, rubbery bubble.

It didn't prevent him from sinking, the hedgehog realised grimly three minutes later after he'd managed to summon up enough courage to jump into the water, but it did have one incredibly valuable side effect; he could breathe.

Not only that; he was also dry, or at the very least not getting any wetter.

He took a step forward. Yes, the shield held. Thank goodness for that; at least now he wouldn't have to worry about puncturing it...although the world did look a little distorted now, kind of like looking through a fish eye lens.

Carefully, Sonic tried reaching up, wanting to find the limitations of this shield. It stretched, molding itself perfectly around the shape of his fingers and he grinned.

"Way past cool."

"I did good, right Sonic?" Tails' anxious and extremely faint voice drifted down from the surface of the water and Sonic's grin broadened.

"You did great, lil bro." In case Tails couldn't hear him – being in the shield had reduced all sounds to vague mumbles – the hedgehog raised one hand in a definite thumbs-up.

They continued on in relative peace for a few minutes, then Tails swam down, caught hold of Sonic and hauled him out of the water.

"Sonic?"

Sonic looked down into the little fox's anxious face and managed a smile. "What's up, squirt?"

Tails pointed at an underwater corridor, almost dropping Sonic in the process. "Are we gonna go in there?"

Sonic shrugged. "I guess we don't have a choice. Why?"

"'Cause…well, I dunno how long it is an' if I can't come up an' breathe it's not gonna be fun anymore, Sonic."

Sonic, when he'd mentally translated this, reached up and scratched behind Tails' ears. "Don't you worry, lil bro. There'll be air down there."

Tails frowned. "But how come, Sonic, 'cause you don't get air in _water_, no way."

Sonic grinned. "Lower me down, squirt, and I'll show you."

Tails lowered him obediently, and Sonic pointed to a vent where air bubbles of varying sizes were rising.

"Do you see those bubbles?"

"Yup. They're rising real fast, huh Sonic?"

"Yeah, you bet they are. You know what that means?"

"Someone farted?"

As soon as Sonic had stopped laughing (which took a good few minutes) he said, "No, squirt; it means there's an air vent down there. If you stick your head in the biggest bubble you can find, you can breathe."

Tails frowned. "But what if there's no more air vents, Sonic?"

"There will be." Still grinning over Tails' earlier comment, Sonic shook his head. "C'mon, let's go before I change my mind about getting back in the water."

Tails yipped in alarm – as far as he was concerned, if Sonic was happy to go back in the water that _had_ to mean he liked it now, which in turn meant he and Sonic could have water fights – and dropped the hedgehog, diving after him and swimming determinedly over to the vent.

It took several attempts before Tails was happy with breathing bubbles, a delay Sonic chafed at even as he understood it. Bubble breathing was a knack, like snapping your fingers, and you didn't want to find out you couldn't do it when there was no other air source around.

Neither of them spoke as they travelled along the corridor. In fact, even if they'd wanted to, it would have been impossible; being underwater didn't make conversation very easy, and Tails was too busy trying to sink enough to walk on the ground like Sonic anyway.

The hedgehog shivered slightly. That hadn't done anything for his hydrophobia; most Mobians in water could relax and float to the surface naturally. Ever since Sonic had broken the sound barrier and inadvertently traded his quills for blades, whenever he went into water he sank like a stone. He had no idea why. It was just something that had happened, and since he avoided any water that wasn't in a glass or pouring out of a showerhead, he didn't usually have to worry about it.

Movement up ahead caught his eye and he tensed, ready. Robots?

No, he realised a few minutes later, not robots; just what looked like horizontally arranged pulleys…or possibly extremely narrow conveyor belts.

_What is this place_? Sonic knew that there were underwater settlements on Mobius, cities built in lakes or oceans and had always been simultaneously enchanted and repulsed by the idea. Especially when you thought that some of the people who lived there were land dwellers by nature; that had been the reason why air vents had been brought in in the first place.

A platform above his head caught his attention and Sonic nodded to himself. Yes. That was the way out, that was where they had to go to.

There was just one problem; he couldn't jump high enough and he wasn't sure if Tails could haul him all that way either.

_Well, you're gonna have to do something, unless you want to spend the rest of your life here._

Sonic shivered. That wasn't an appealing thought, even with his shield.

An idea struck him as he looked at the conveyor belts. That highest one was easily high enough for him to get to the platform. It was worth a try, surely?

Timing it perfectly, he leapt through the water and seized the bottom conveyor belt, then managed to pull himself up to the next one, hanging upside down and leaping neatly off onto the platform nearby.

Tails, who had been inhaling huge bubbles from nearby vents in an attempt to keep from drowning, paddled up next to the hedgehog, swam forward and up through a small tunnel.

"Tails, wait!" Sonic tried to jump, only to find that the entrance was too high. "Damn!"

He didn't know how he did it. All he knew was that he'd jumped, missed, tried to push up again and the next thing he knew the shield had flattened around him and he was wedged firmly in the tunnel.

_What…_?

Wriggling and cursing Tails for putting him in this position, Sonic managed to squeeze up the narrow passage, emerging in a tiny room barely large enough to hold the two of them. Tails was standing there, tapping his foot in his best Sonic impression as the hedgehog hauled himself out the water.

"What was that all about?"

"I wanted to breathe," Tails explained, "an' I wanted to see where this went, an' look what I found!" He pointed excitedly to the main focal point of the room. "It's another giant ring, Sonic, see? C'n we jump through it?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. He didn't have the heart to get upset with Tails for running off now, especially since the little fox had found him this shield.

"Tails?"

"Yup?"

"Do you remember back on Westside Island, when we laid down those ground rules for you to follow?"

Tails giggled. "An' you too, Sonic, right?"

Sonic cast his mind back, then shook his head. "No, I'm not talking about the agreement we made on South Island. I'm talking about the three rules, and rule one was that I go first into any unknown or dangerous situations."

Tails frowned perplexedly. "But this wasn't dangerous, Sonic, 'cause I _had_ to come here 'cause I couldn't find no more bubbles an' I wanted to breathe, 'member? 'Sides, ol' Robotnik wouldn't've put a robot here, no way."

"We don't know that, Tails."

Tails nodded vigorously. "We do, 'cause he knows you can't swim an' so he knows you'd never come up here. If I was him I'd put all my robots somewhere I _knew_ you were gonna be."

Sonic hesitated. He had to admit that was a pretty good point, and it didn't sound much better coming out the mouth of a five year old.

"So it was safe, Sonic, an' I even found another big ring so's we can get another Em'rald back!" Tails was beaming now, happy in the knowledge of a job well done. "Can we jump through it now, Sonic?"

Sonic gave in. "Sure."

After all, it had to be better than the Special Zones he'd endured on Westside Island. At least in these you could go in all different directions.

He leapt through, closely followed by Tails, emerging on another checkered ball. Looking around, he shook his head. One day, he was going to solve the mystery of these Special Zones once and for all!

Winding in between bumper spheres – this was harder than it sounded; they had a tendency to bounce him back into the blue spheres he'd already touched and which had turned red – Sonic caught sight of the grey Emerald in the distance and picked up the pace, hopping around red spheres, jumping bumpers and grabbing anything blue he could see. As a technique, it had its flaws (such as when Tails had jumped on Sonic and said he'd thought the hedgehog was a sphere, a claim Sonic was inclined to take with a pinch of salt) but it seemed to be working; before long they were back in the same room as before and holding another Chaos Emerald.

Tails frowned at it. "How come it's the grey one, Sonic?"

Sonic shook his head. "I don't know, kiddo. There's a lot about these things and the Special Zones that I don't know. I guess it's just random, huh?"

"Yeah." Tails yawned hugely, drawing a concerned glance from Sonic. How long had they been going? He'd lost track of time, didn't even know for sure how long he'd spent on that first platform before Tails had pushed him in. It could have been minutes, or hours.

Well, it didn't matter now anyway, Sonic thought.

"C'mon kiddo. Let's get some rest."

"Not tired, Sonic!"

Sonic, who had long since discovered the best way of dealing with such statements from the little fox, said, "Okay squirt, but I am, so let's rest for a while."

"Oh. Okay." Tails curled up, wrapped both namesakes around him and snuggled into his makeshift nest, eyes already drooping.

Sonic waited a few minutes until he was sure Tails was really asleep, then slipped out. He wanted to scout ahead, see if he could find a water shield for the little fox. He wasn't sure if he could carry it back, but it would be worth a try.

He kept going, sticking his head into every hole he found in the hopes that there would be a water shield inside. So far he hadn't found anything.

Ahead, he saw the path drop sharply and nodded slightly.

_Okay. I'll check down there, and then I'll get back to Tails._

It wasn't until Sonic was on the lower floor that he realised the small flaw in this plan; namely that even with his shield he couldn't jump high enough to get back up. He tried climbing, leaping, even attempting to recreate Tails' moves and swim up. Nothing worked, and he couldn't get up enough friction in this shield to spin his way out either.

Well, Tails wasn't stupid; he was more than capable of finding the hedgehog.

Sonic hesitated. That was all very well, but there was also a very good chance that Tails would think he'd been dumped. It had taken Sonic a long time to break through that particular fear, and now he could see himself going straight back to square one.

_No choice. I have to get back to him somehow._

It was while he was attempting to kick his way up the walls (and failing miserably, as the growing assortment of bruises on his rear end could bear witness) that he noticed a trapdoor in the ceiling sliding open and felt a quiver of apprehension. Robotnik? That guy who'd mugged him? Or maybe Tails himself had found a shortcut; the little fox had done stranger things since Sonic had met him.

Whatever it was, it was coming down fast, Sonic noticed, and barely managed to scramble out the way in time. The thing, a sleek brown and roughly spherical object, descended until it was about four feet above the floor.

_A robot_, Sonic realised. Not only that, but a particularly tough looking robot as well. Robotnik was getting better. How on Mobius was he supposed to destroy this thing when the water stopped him from doing a spindash?

The robot moved suddenly, racing upwards and even as Sonic watched, it swooped down towards him. Leaping out the way, the hedgehog raced to one side just in time to avoid another attack, then stared in disbelief as the robot returned to its former position, almost like it was _waiting_ for something.

Can't spindash…got to think about this…Sonic cast his mind back. It was only comparatively recently that he'd learned to rev up before shooting off. He hadn't been able to do it back on South Island, so how had he dealt with things there?

Reaching out, not entirely sure what he was going to do until he'd done it, Sonic grabbed the robot. To his surprise, it moved easily; he guessed it must weigh about two stone at most.

_Almost half my weight._ Sonic grinned, an idea occurring to him.

Using the robot for leverage, he pushed himself higher in the water, used his shield to go even further, then curled up and dropped like a stone, landing hard on the robot and crushing it against the floor.

A strong electrical current blasted him through the opposite wall. Tucking and rolling automatically, Sonic got to his feet, somewhat dizzily. The explosion had sent him crashing through not only that wall, but two others as well before slamming him into the edge of a dry platform, which he'd crawled up instinctively.

"What was _that_ all about?"

Almost immediately the answer hit him and he groaned.

_Stupid_. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. Destroying electrically powered machines in an underwater city...oh man. Looked like he'd have to find another way of dealing with robots all the time he was down here.

In the meantime, what was he supposed to do about Tails?

Sonic pondered for a few minutes, then filled his lungs. "TAILS!"

There was no answer. He supposed it was too much to hope for; the little fox was sleeping and if that hadn't been enough, Sonic's voice had to carry through three walls, up a tunnel and through who knew how many tons of water.

The next few hours didn't pass pleasantly for Sonic; he spent most of it dangling his feet in the water in the hopes that Tails would see them and know where to come, and every couple of minutes he'd yell Tails' name in case the little fox was close enough to hear him. Worst of all, he'd lost his shield. He supposed it must have happened when the electricity had blasted him.

It was a good five or six hours after Sonic had left him there asleep when Tails finally managed to find him, and when he did he buried the hedgehog in a hug that knocked Sonic onto his back.

"Sonic, where'd you go? Why'd you leave me?" Tails fixed huge brimming eyes on the hedgehog. "Don't you like me anymore?"

Remorse kicked in, hard, and Sonic swallowed. "Sure I still like you, squirt. I'm sorry." Settling his back against the wall, he pulled Tails into a hug. "I didn't mean to stay gone. I just fell down here and I couldn't get back up."

Tails sniffled, face mashed against Sonic's chest. "I thought you'd left me, Sonic."

The hedgehog shook his head. "I'm not gonna leave you, lil bro, and if I ever did it wouldn't be like that."

There was a short pause, then Tails said, "Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"C'n I have a Chaos Emerald to guard?"

Sonic closed his eyes for a moment. Tails' request to guard a Chaos Emerald was in reality nothing more than the fox's way of securing a little insurance against Sonic's abandoning him, and he hadn't done it since they'd been in Metropolis Zone together.

"Sure, buddy. You want the green one or the grey one?"

"Um…" Tails frowned in an agony of indecision before saying, "Both!"

"You can't have _both_, squirt. What if ol' Robotnik caught you? He'd get the Emeralds then, wouldn't he?"

Tails looked stricken at the mere suggestion of such a thing. "Boy, would he ever! C'n I have the green one then?"

"Sure," Sonic said again and passed it over. "C'mon. Let's keep going, okay?"

They continued on. The water was gradually getting deeper (and Sonic felt his fear threaten to rise up with it) but at the moment it was only just over their heads. Well, only just over Sonic's, at any rate; the tips of Tails' ears were already six to eight inches under, and while it was inconvenient to have to keep jumping up to breathe, it wasn't the worst situation the hedgehog had ever been in.

Even if he'd still had the shield, Sonic probably wouldn't have heard the screeching of machinery kicking in; water is notoriously bad at transmitting high-frequency sounds.

He did, however, feel the rumbling in the floor. At first thinking the floor in question was about to drop out from underneath him, he looked down.

Nope. No signs of cracking. Well, that was something.

Tails seized him under the arms, lifting him skyward. Even through wet fur, Sonic could feel the little fox quivering.

"What's up, kiddo?"

By way of an answer, Tails spun him around to face back the way they'd come, and Sonic felt his heart turn to ash inside his ribs.

The wall was closing in on them. It wasn't doing it at a nice, gentle pace like the one back in Bridge Zone either; this wall meant business. Several dark stains covered the golden coloured bricks, and Sonic found he didn't want to think about how long they'd been there or, more importantly, how they'd got there in the first place.

"Crap!" Sonic twisted around. "Tails, _run_!"

Tails flew instead, carrying Sonic up three layers of platforms before dropping him on the topmost one, gasping for breath.

Any hopes Sonic had that the other walls would stop this one were quickly dashed as he saw it still grinding towards them. Briefly he wondered how it worked, then shook his head irritably. He didn't have time to worry about that now; it was enough to know that it _did_ work and was still coming towards him.

They kept running, dropping down holes in the floor and scrambling onto ledges in an attempt to escape. Nothing worked. The area they were in seemed to be only half filled with water, so at least oxygen wasn't a problem, but Sonic's muscles were already feeling the burn. Running in water was a lot harder than running on dry land.

Clambering up a ledge into a long tunnel, Sonic's foot slipped on a treacherously wet piece of stone and he half slithered, half fell back towards the ground and the wall.

"_Sonic_!" Twisting around with reflexes Sonic admired even in their current predicament, Tails threw himself halfway over the edge and seized Sonic's wrists, trying to pull the hedgehog back up.

"Tails, don't!" Sonic attempted to twist free. "Leave me! Get yourself out of this!"

Tails gritted his teeth and kept pulling instead, inching back little by little as Sonic instinctively attempted to help him by digging in his feet and racing up the vertical slope. It didn't work; the stone was too wet and slippery to get much of a hold.

"Tails, _listen _to me!" Sonic glanced over his shoulder at the wall, which was barely six feet away now and closing fast. "You _have to let go_! There's no point both of us dying!"

The little fox shook his head and lunged, grabbing Sonic under the arms and whirring both tails frantically. Exhausted though he was, he still managed to gain altitude, eventually dragging Sonic into the tunnel.

The hedgehog felt the wall press one of his feet against its opposite counterpart and jerked reflexively, producing enough momentum to send himself head over heels into the tunnel, almost impaling Tails on his blades.

There was a loud crunch as the wall hit the opposite side, a crunch which sent vibrations along the floor strong enough to make the chips of masonry there move.

"Sonic?" Tails clambered on top of the hedgehog's stomach and collapsed, panting hard. "Did we make it?"

"Yeah." Even Sonic was out of breath, glancing behind with a shudder as the narrowness of his escape hit home. "Thanks, squirt. You did a great job. Are you okay?"

Tails nodded vigorously, beaming at Sonic's praise. "Yup! I'm okay, Sonic! I was jus'...jus' scared in case _you_ got squished. Yeah! 'Cause I know you prob'ly don't wanna get squished, huh Sonic? You don't, right?"

Sonic laughed. "You got that right, kiddo. C'mere." He stretched out an arm to the side and Tails rolled into it, snuggling into the hedgehog's sodden body, still quivering slightly.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did the wall want to squish us?"

Sonic shook his head. "I dunno, kiddo. I dunno." He grinned down at the shaken little fox and ruffled the wet fur. "You keep on saving my life, don't you?"

Tails blinked. "I do?"

"Sure you do. Now and all those times on Westside Island, remember?"

The little fox's ears drooped. "I 'member you getting real real mad at me in Casino Night Zone 'cause of all that food."

"Kiddo, that was months ago. You gotta learn to let these things go." Sonic winked. "And like I said, you did save my life."

Tails looked away despondently. It was clear that he felt Sonic getting mad at him was the worst scenario imaginable, and not something he could forget just because he'd done something so trivial as to save the hedgehog from certain death a number of times.

"And you whumped all those bots in Emerald Hill Zone, didn't you?"

It was the right thing to say; Tails perked up immediately. "Boy, did I ever! I got loads more'n you, huh Sonic? Loads loads _loads_ more!"

Sonic's grin broadened, a grin that hid the still frantic hammering of his heart. "Well, I don't know about loads loads _loads_ more, squirt—"

"I did!" Near death experience forgotten, Tails bounded to his feet. "I _did_, Sonic, an' you _know_ it! Now stop being dumb an' let's go!"

Sonic laughed, performing his best salute. "Yes sir!"

"Good!" Tails seized Sonic's hand and hauled him upright before racing down the tunnel and back again to say, "C'mon Sonic, I thought you were _fast_!"

The hedgehog shook his head, still grinning. "You wanna race?"

"_Yeah_!" Tails scampered over to stand next to Sonic. "Threetwoone_GO_!"

Sonic caught up with him two yards down the corridor. "You're supposed to pause between words, Tails."

"Am not!" Bringing both namesakes into play, Tails zoomed ahead, grinning until he saw Sonic jogging next to him, backwards. "So_nic_! _I'm_ s'posed to win!"

Sonic laughed. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Tails swerved to the side and dived forward, catching Sonic around the waist and tackling him to the ground. "Pounce attack!"

Sonic grabbed him, tickling in retaliation until Tails managed to wriggle free, glaring.

"You're not 'llowed to tickle someone in a race, Sonic!"

"And you're not allowed to pounce attack them, kiddo." In spite of himself Sonic was still grinning. Tails was so cute when he was being serious.

"Am too! It's a…a pouncing race! Yeah!"

"Then you won."

"I did?" Tails stared at Sonic in astonishment, then his face cleared. "Yeah, I did, 'cause I pounced first, huh Sonic?"

"You bet." Sonic winked at Tails. "C'mon. Let's keep going, okay? I want to get somewhere nice and dry."

"'Kay." Grabbing hold of Sonic's hand, Tails padded along next to him for a few minutes. "Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"Do hedgehogs pounce attack? 'Cause I've never seen you do it."

Sonic grinned. "No, squirt, we're not really a pounce attacking species. We roll up, and spin into things, and dig, but we can't pounce attack very well."

"You _can't_?" Tails was stricken. He'd never known there were people who couldn't pounce attack. "Boy, you must be real sad, huh Sonic?"

"I dunno. I could say the same thing for you because you can't spin like me."

Tails giggled. "But foxes don't spin, Sonic."

"And hedgehogs don't pounce attack."

"Oh." Convinced by this logic, Tails relapsed into a satisfied silence, which lasted all of five minutes before they emerged from the tunnel into an open space, and then all he said was, "Is the wall gonna squish us again, Sonic?"

The hedgehog felt a chill run through him. "I hope not, kiddo."

"Me too."

Movement caught Sonic's eye and he whirled to see a robot which bore a slightly twisted resemblance to a hermit crab – albeit one that looked like it was grinning – trundling towards them.

Tails squinted at it, more curious than afraid. "Sonic?"

"Yeah?" Sonic crouched down, readying a spindash.

"Why's that robot got a rocket strapped to its butt?"

The hedgehog opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment the rocket launched into the air and hurtled towards them.

"_Down_!" Sonic grabbed Tails and took him to the ground, rolling as the rocket exploded in the very spot where they'd been standing, leaving a smoking crater behind.

Wriggling free, Tails fixed Sonic with what he fondly imagined to be a stern look. "You told me hedgehogs couldn't pounce attack!"

Instead of wasting time explaining, Sonic leapt to his feet, whirled and spindashed the robot, revealing a feral seal pup inside. Lifting it into his hands, he carried it carefully over to the water and let it slide in.

"Robotnik's using ferals now." Sonic supposed that in a completely callous way, it was better than using sentient Mobians, but it still burned him, especially when he glanced back to see the seal swimming around looking somewhat lonely in the water all by itself.

"C'mon kiddo. Let's go."

Tails scrambled to his feet, glaring at Sonic. "I wanted to whump the bot!"

"You _always_ want to whump the bot," Sonic said, grinning at him.

Tails scowled and didn't answer as they walked – or in Tails' case, stomped – past the charred remains.

It was ten minutes after Tails had first started sulking when Sonic heard the little fox giggle, and turned, smiling.

"What's funny?"

"I got a pet, Sonic! Look!" Tails held out his arm for inspection and Sonic saw a small robot fish was busy gnawing on it. Tails' fur was too thick for its teeth to penetrate yet, but they would, wouldn't they? Sonic thought grimly. Oh yes. They would.

"Tails, I think you should leave that behind."

"But...but he's my pet, Sonic!" Tails' expression couldn't have been more stricken if Sonic had suggested killing and eating the family dog. "See? He's my zoomy fish. I call him that 'cause he zoomed right outta the water an' grabbed me an'—OWP!" Tails yelped loudly as the busily working teeth of the robot finally penetrated his skin. Yanking the fish off, he hurled it to the ground, stomped on it and then threw it into the wall.

Padding back to Sonic, who was trying his hardest not to laugh, Tails folded his arms and announced, "I don't wanna play with the zoomy fish anymore, Sonic!"

Sonic grinned broadly, reaching down to ruffle the little fox's fur. "Me neither, squirt. What do you say we keep going, huh?"

"Yeah!"

They'd been travelling in a companionable silence for several minutes when Tails said, "Sonic?"

"Yeah, lil bro?"

"C'n I still have a pet?"

The hedgehog blinked. "What?"

"A pet," Tails repeated patiently. "'Cause loadsa other kids have 'em an' I want one!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Right. And if loadsa other kids decided to get a roboticiser and go around acting like Robotnik, would you do the same?"

Tails scowled at him. "Not funny, Sonic! That's jus' the kinda thing a dumb ol' _adult_ would say!"

Sonic paused. "You're right, it is." He shook his head, grinning wryly. "Sorry kiddo. When I was your age and Mighty's mother used to say that kinda stuff to me, I always vowed I'd never say it to _my_ kids, if I ever had any."

Tails fixed Sonic with a big-eyed look. "You got me, Sonic."

"Yeah, but you're my little brother, aren't you? You're not my son."

The thought of being Sonic's son was so funny that it took several minutes before Tails stopped shrieking with laughter, much to the hedgehog's relief. He'd gotten used to the idea of Tails as a kid brother, but he honestly didn't know how he'd cope if the little fox started calling him _Dad_.

Apparently forgetting his longing for a pet, Tails started padding on down the tunnel, smothered giggles still erupting from him at regular intervals, something which lasted until they caught sight of what looked like hi-tech pillars moving back and forth ahead of them. Although the lowest one was stopping at the mouth of the tunnel, Sonic could see the glint of light on the spikes embedded in the wall above, and the pillar moving on the second level.

He shivered. Jump too early and you'd run the risk of being crushed on the way down, too late and you'd be impaled on those glinting spikes. Briefly, he wondered why they didn't rust in all this water.

Well, that was hardly important now. Cautioning Tails to wait and follow on once he'd got to the top, Sonic leapt up onto the first pillar, timed his next jump carefully and managed to land balancing on the side of the spikes, then hopped onto the next pillar as it moved towards him.

Another jump. Another row of spikes. Sonic was getting the hang of this now; once you were in a rhythm, it wasn't so bad.

Jump. Pillar. Jump. Spikes. Some four levels up, the pillars gave way to another platform and he leapt onto it with a feeling of relief. Here there was no risk of being crushed.

At least, not yet.

A few minutes later, Tails scrambled up to join him.

"C'n I have a ride, Sonic?"

Sonic's jaw dropped. "_Now_? Here, in the middle of an underwater maze? Are you nuts?"

Tails shook his head. "Nuh uh. I'm not nuts, Sonic; I'm completely an' utterly pie sottic, 'member?"

"Psychotic, and yeah, you are," Sonic informed him, grinning slightly.

"So can I have a ride?" Tails said eagerly. "'Cause that zoomy fish _really_ hurt me, Sonic..." He put on a mournful tone and expression, looking down at the floor and peeking up occasionally to see if Sonic's heart had been wrung yet.

"It bit your arm, squirt, not your foot. And no, you can't have a ride here; it's not safe." Sonic walked forward and, as if to illustrate the point, a section of the floor rose up suddenly and what looked like a hand on a pole descended to grab him by the head and hold him firmly in place.

Instinct took over, along with apprehension at the sight of an approaching bot which looked like someone had crossed a shark with a jet and painted it blue, and Sonic started to run on the spot as the floor rotated underneath him.

He didn't know how fast he was going when the hand suddenly released him, but it was fast enough to send him blasting down what looked like a giant flume, through another lake, across the surface of a waterway and straight onto another bridge, and the only reason he stopped then was because he'd just smashed into an iron barrier.

"Ouch!" Rubbing his bruised snout, Sonic straightened up, glaring at the barrier. It put him in mind of a portcullis, albeit a portcullis set in a thick stone wall.

A somewhat breathless Tails flew down to join him. He was making a big deal of his bitten arm, nosing it and occasionally licking it in an effort to garner Sonic's sympathy, neither of which was working.

Then he saw the person standing beyond the grid next to the switch there and all thoughts of wheedling a ride out of the hedgehog went by the board.

"You! You jus' better give us back those Em'ralds!"

Sonic spun around, coming face to face with the red stranger.

_Man, he must move like a damn shadow_! _I never heard a thing_!

The creature held the hedgehog's gaze for a few minutes, then curled his lip. "So much for hydrophobia."

Sonic stared at him. "What?"

"You heard." The creature's eyes flickered scornfully over Sonic, then paused as it encountered Tails. A frown creased his forehead as he saw the red stain where the fish had bitten the little fox.

"You're bleeding?"

"Yeah, an' _Sonic_ won't gimme a ride!" Tails scowled at the hedgehog.

"But...robots don't bleed." Now the stranger sounded utterly confused, as though struggling to come to terms with a monumental equation.

Tails frowned perplexedly. "But I'm not a robot 'cause I'm furry an' robots aren't furry, no _way_." He raised his little snout into the air. "You _obvusly_ haven't whumped as many as me an' Sonic!"

"Whump? What is that, a fancy word for _build_?"

Tails giggled. "No! You're real dumb, huh mister?"

Sonic tensed. "Tails?"

"Yup?"

"What have I told you about insulting someone who's in a perfect position to dump us both into a ravine?"

"Uh..." Tails cast his mind back, wrinkling his little snout in thought before saying, "Nothing."

The hedgehog floundered for a few minutes, then said, "Then...don't."

"Oh. Okay."

Sonic shifted his weight. He supposed he ought to keep calm, think things through logically, but his mind was currently flooding him with fear of the water underneath, fear of the switch the stranger was standing beside and a nasty sense of deja-vu. Fixing the other with an appealing look, he spoke.

"If you're gonna step on that switch—"

"Yeah."

"—then don't I get a last request?"

"Like what?"

"How about, don't kill me?"

"Don't kill me too!" Tails piped up.

Sonic fixed the stranger with his best stare, a crazy idea occurring to him. Maybe it would be possible for them to talk their way out of this yet. "Look, can I ask you something without you trying to kill me?"

A raised eye ridge. "What?"

"Why did you steal my Chaos Emeralds?"

"They aren't yours. They belong to my tribe, and so I wasn't stealing so much as recovering. Next question?" the stranger added with heavy sarcasm.

Sonic opened his mouth to try and explain matters.

"Why's this place all wet?" someone said. It wasn't him.

The hedgehog clenched his teeth. "_Tails_!"

"What?" The little fox fixed Sonic with an injured look. "I wanted a turn."

"You drained the lakes." Now the stranger's tone was a lot harder, as though he'd forgotten this unpleasant fact until that moment. "Where did you think all the water was going to go?"

"Yeah, we drained the lakes," Sonic retorted. "We had to or we'd have drowned, not that _you_ care," he added, not quite under his breath.

"All I _care_ about is that I can no longer use that water to put out the fires that your devices caused."

Sonic's jaw dropped. "_My_ devices?"

"Are you deaf, hedgehog? Yes, _your_ devices. Robotnik warned me about you."

"Robotnik?" Sonic stared at him as recent events started to make a little more sense. "Look pal, I dunno what he told you but—"

"Enough talk. I've no time for your barbaric lies."

"We're _not_ barbic!" Tails protested, then edged closer to Sonic as the stranger's stare zeroed in on him. "An' you can't send us back to that wall thingy 'cause that's jus' _mean_! I saw the blood that was smeared all up it an' it's jus' like that Genocide City Zone back on the surface where they use great big pointy _stick_ things to pin people to wooden pillars!"

"And you're not barbaric?" the stranger said rhetorically.

"NO!" Tails emerged from the shelter of Sonic's body long enough to put paws on hips and glower at their antagonist. "An' if you try an' kill us again, mister, you'll be sorry 'cause Sonic'll whump you real good! Right Sonic?"

Sonic hesitated. He had no real desire to get into a fight with this stranger; he was more interested in getting to the bottom of things.

"I don't want to whump anyone."

"See?" Apparently oblivious to Sonic's answer, Tails marched forward until he was inches away from the glass. "So you're gonna let us go now, aren't you?"

"Dream on, kid."

"My name's _not_ kid! My name's Tails, 'cept for when Sonic calls me squirt!" Tails kicked at the barrier, not even vibrating it, then yipped and clutched at his sore toe.

"Can we please get back on the subject?" Sonic said a little testily; having all this water around him was doing nothing for his temper. Fixing his attention on the stranger, he added, "Listen, whoever you are, Robotnik's playing you for a sucker. He lies as a matter of course."

"That right?" Still those same flat, uncompromising tones.

"He wants to take over the world," Tails piped up, "an' turn people into robots!"

The other raised deprecatory eye ridges. "Take over the world, huh?" He shook his head, clicking his tongue. "The nerve of some people."

"Exactly!" Emboldened by the fact that the stranger hadn't activated the switch yet, Sonic picked up the conversation. "So what do you say we go stop him, huh?"

"Actually, I think you misunderstood what I just said," the stranger said leisurely, one foot now poised above the switch. "I was talking about you." He shook his head. "You got a real nerve expecting me to believe something like that. Taking over the world? How melodramatic can you get?"

"You gotta help us out!" Tails protested.

A hard grin appeared on the other's face. "Oh, I'll help you out alright, kid."

Tails' ears lifted hopefully. "You will?"

"Yeah, I'll help you out." The eyes narrowed suddenly and the grin vanished. "_Down_ and out."

He stepped on the switch and the floor fell away.

As far as falls went, it was nowhere near as bad as the fall from the other bridge had been; the pair only dropped about ten feet before hitting water and, four feet later, the floor.

Sonic half turned just in time to see a set of huge propellers slide out of the ground and lock into place behind them. The words, "Oh man, not _again_," escaped from his mouth in a string of bubbles before the current hit, carrying them down a passage and finally ebbing once Sonic and Tails reached shallower water.

Sonic shifted his weight. He wasn't much happier being in this water than the water back there, but at least here it was shallow enough to breathe, so long as he stretched on tiptoe and stuck his nose out of the water.

A rumbling, the source of which was hard to pin down due to the echoes, started from up ahead, gradually building in volume until Robotnik hovered into sight.

"I'm almost impressed, Sonic," he remarked. "To have come this far through an underwater maze...yes, not bad at all."

As soon as Tails had lifted him onto an eye level with the doctor, Sonic managed a broad grin. If Robotnik was here, then this hell was almost over.

"Thanks doc. Does that mean you're gonna let us outta here?"

Robotnik smiled. "Of course not. You don't imagine I'm going to let you walk away, do you?" He glanced at Tails and his smile widened. "Especially not you." Shaking his head, he added, "I thought I killed you already, not only here but at the Wing Fortress as well. What does it take to keep you down, little cub?"

"Ha!" Tails surged up for emphasis, momentarily forgetting Sonic. "You'd have to whump _ev'ryone_, ol' Robotnik, ev'ryone in the whole wide _world_!"

Robotnik chuckled. "Then let's start with you and your spiny rodent friend, shall we?" Shifting attention back to the hedgehog, he said, "This, Sonic, is my Egg Whisk."

There was a long, long silence, then Sonic said, "I musta been doing this for too long, doc, because compared to your usual names, that one wasn't so bad."

"Indeed. Perhaps you'll appreciate it even more after I show you how it works."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Doc, do we really gotta get a news bulletin every time? You're gonna try and kill us, and we're gonna try and stop you. End of discussion, game on. Okay?"

"Yeah!" Tails lifted Sonic up and kicked him hard towards Robotnik, like a football.

"Ouch!" Dropping back into the water, Sonic rubbed his nether regions tenderly. There had to be a more dignified way for Tails to send him towards an enemy.

A red spiked ball, similar to the ones Robotnik had tried to drop on him way back in Casino Night Zone, landed next to the hedgehog and Sonic leapt sideways as it exploded, sending a fountain of water twelve feet into the air as Robotnik dropped another at the far end.

From where he sat inside his now soggy Egg Whisk, Robotnik grimaced and attempted to squeeze some of the water out of his moustache. This was an excellent new design for his Egg-O-Matic, but it had its drawbacks.

Well, time to finish Sonic once and for all.

Ignoring the little voice inside which asked him just how many times he'd thought _that_, Robotnik pushed a button, pulling down on another lever and watching as segments of metal extended from underneath, slotting neatly into place in much the same manner as an aerial. There was a chink, hardly audible over the water, and a set of blades shot out, forming a large propeller which started to turn, slowly at first, then faster and faster until it had created a small maelstrom.

Retracting the blades very slowly, Robotnik raised the water into a waterspout, grinning as he saw Sonic being sucked in by the incredible pressure.

"Time to give it up, Sonic. My Egg Whisk has well and truly _beaten_ you."

Sonic made a distinctly unheroic suggestion concerning Robotnik and his precious Egg Whisk, but since he made it through clenched teeth under the sound of churning water, the doctor didn't hear him and wouldn't have cared if he had.

_No! I'm not going to go out like this_! Sonic redoubled his efforts, all to no avail. The suction was too powerful to fight, dragging him inexorably towards those deadly rotating blades.

"Sonic?" The voice was tinny, barely audible.

_Tails!_ Oh man, Sonic didn't want the little fox to see him go out like that. Tails had had enough losses in his short life.

His frantically scrabbling hands caught hold of something round and spiked, something which came loose in his hands.

Robotnik's explosive.

The hedgehog hesitated for a nanosecond, then decided _what the hell_. It was a crazy idea, but it might work.

Summoning all his strength, he managed to force his torso out of the water long enough to throw the bomb at Tails. Sonic saw the little fox catch it gamely before the current sucked him under again.

Water rushed into Sonic's lungs as he gasped reflexively, and he coughed violently, clapping a hand over his mouth and nose to prevent the instinctive inhale that always followed a cough. Black stars raced through his head and he felt the strength leave his muscles. His last conscious thought was hoping that Tails had the savvy to know what to do with the bomb.

Tails did. As soon as he'd caught the clumsily thrown missile, he'd known what Sonic had in mind.

"You're going _down_, ol' Robotnik!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

The doctor took his gaze off Sonic long enough to turn it on Tails and say, "I told you before; less of the—" Catching sight of what Tails was holding, he felt the words dry up in his throat. "You little fox! Give that to me!"

It was an unfortunate choice of words, he admitted to himself much later. Chances were good that if he'd said, "Drop it!" or "Don't even think about it!"...well, chances were good that Tails would still have done the same thing, actually, but at least the doctor wouldn't have been left with the feeling that he'd set himself up for the mother of all falls.

As it was, Tails shouted, "Okay!" swooped underneath, aimed up into the underbelly of the Egg Whisk and hurled the bomb with all the strength of his small body.

The explosion not only took out the propeller, it took out half the Egg Whisk as well. Not bothering about such things, Tails zipped down, seized Sonic by the wrist and hauled the semi-conscious, choking hedgehog out of the water.

Half in, half out, Robotnik managed to right the machine and regain his seat, dazed. It was a mercy he'd only had time to bring two explosives; if he'd had a machine full of them...he shivered. Even for him, it didn't bear thinking about. Damn that hedgehog! If only he wasn't so fast! There had to be a way, something he could...

Robotnik broke off mid-plot and smiled slowly, deviously. Ah. Of course. Why hadn't he thought of it before? It would take some building, and a lot of extra work and effort on his part, but if it dealt with that pesky hedgehog, it would be worth it.

Swinging his machine around, he started to accelerate when he heard Sonic's voice.

"Robotnik!"

The doctor paused but didn't turn around. "What?"

"Tell me how you survived! You pushed that self-destruct switch for the Death Egg, I saw you! How on Mobius could you survive something like that?"

Now Robotnik did look over his shoulder at Sonic, a small smile on his face.

"The Death Egg?" he queried. "Dear me, Sonic, whoever said that self-destruct switch was for the Death Egg?"

Twisting back in his seat, he accelerated away before the hedgehog could demand any more information.

Sonic glanced over to Tails, who was now splashing happily about in the water. "What do you suppose he meant?"

"I dunno. Sonic, what's a selfish duck switch?"

"Something that makes a machine blow itself up." Sonic looked around, searching for a door.

Nothing. Not even a small tunnel he could have crawled through. He did see a weaker version of Robotnik's Prison Egg, however, and leapt onto the plunger to free the animals inside.

All ferals, Sonic noted with a slight frown. _Why?_ Robotnik wasn't averse to using people; on the contrary, he was positively enthusiastic about it. Was it possible that he hadn't managed to catch any of the residents on this island yet? If so, maybe Sonic could get to them and warn them.

_At least, if we ever manage to find them. How the hell are we supposed to get out of this place?_

He got his answer a little sooner than he would have liked. A rumbling came from under his feet, one that intensified until the entire room was shaking.

Scared now, Tails paddled over to Sonic and scrambled up, clinging to Sonic as the hedgehog picked him up automatically.

"What's happening, Sonic?"

Sonic shook his head slowly. "I don't know."

"Is that wall thing coming after us again?"

That thought made Sonic pale. It couldn't be that particular wall – that one was back the way they'd come – but if there was one, couldn't there also be others?

A deafening explosion caused him to spin around, seeing a geyser of water erupting some several hundred feet into the air. The pressure was incredible, like some giant pipe had suddenly burst. Hell, Sonic thought, for all they knew, it could have done.

With Tails' grip on him now tight enough to ensure the only way to get him off would be with a crowbar, Sonic backed away.

The second geyser clipped the back of his foot, sending him fifty feet into the air before he fell back towards the ground again, and the third geyser caught him squarely in the chest and hurled him skywards.

**Okay, so Hydrocity Zone (probably my least favourite of all the Zones :P) is finally done! Hope you enjoyed it! Also, a huge thankyou to shadow-spawn180 for letting me borrow some of the ideas from his fic **_**Swimming Lessons**_


	5. Worst Laid Plans

**Awdures: (blushes) Thanks :)**

**Forgotten Muse: Oh, I had fun writing it :P I just hated having to replay the level over and over again to get the information I needed (namely The Wall. How I hate The Wall ;) Even in debug mode)**

**Matt Lans: No kidding :P And Spike Garden...ooh, I love it!**

**Poridet: Thanks :D And yeah, I love that line too (when I wrote it I had to stop working on the chapter; I was doing it at work and the guys in surrounding desks were wondering why I was grinning so much)**

**TC Chan: (grins) Thanks :D Oddly enough, that 'Squishy' line was what went through my mind when I wrote that part (and then I couldn't get it _out_ of my mind ;))**

**Dr Namgge: The Wall was a pretty handy plot device...along with Sonic's hydrophobia, yeah ;) As for That Barrel in Carnival Night Zone...actually, I'm wondering how I'm going to get across the way of controlling the descent (look up when it goes up and down when it goes down). Still, I got a few Zones to work it out :P**

**Pyrokinetics: Heh, you could be right :P And thanks**

**Professor Vengeance: A Tails spin-off! OH YEAH:D And thanks, glad you liked it :P**

**SonicTails123: Thanks :) Yeah, I know...all kids go through the 'pet' stage ;)**

**Milette Tails Prower: Heh, thanks :D And Knux...well, we all know what he's like ;)**

**Telly K Netic: Thanks :D Updates...well, they're as fast as I can make them ;) The Zones do take a lot longer, partly because of the two boss battles and partly because I'm constantly playing and replaying that Zone to work out if I've missed anything...the Knuckles/Robotnik chapters are much faster coming :P**

**D.C.111: Thanks, glad you liked it :D**

**Guardian Angel of Haven City: (blushes) Thanks :) Tails' lines…oh yeah :P Little kids come out with some real gems sometimes**

**Feniiku: No, of course you're not ;)**

**SonicRules12: Heh…Act Two was the one I hated. If it hadn't been for the wall, I might have actually liked Hydrocity. And thanks :D I'm looking forward to doing Marble Garden Zone; it's my second favourite in the games :D (rereads list of levels) Oops…I mean third ;)**

**Private somebody: If it hadn't been for that wall of doom, I would probably agree; Hydrocity is pretty cool. And the miniboss was there; it showed up when Sonic was on his own. The hedgehog just smashed it before it got to do the washing machine thing :P**

Knuckles walked over to the nearest wall in Hydrocity and started punching it, carving out chunks of masonry with every blow.

He'd been lied to. _Big_ time.

More punching. More carving. He'd already made quite a sizeable niche.

_How could I have been so stupid_? Like all echidnas, Knuckles hated being made to look a fool, and believing that fluffy fox kid was a metal machine struck him as pretty damn foolish. In fact, if Robotnik hadn't—

_Robotnik_.

Thinking about the doctor brought Knuckles' punching to a halt, and he narrowed his eyes in cold fury.

_Get ready, Robotnik. I'm coming for you._

Back in the forest (parts of which were still burning nicely) Robotnik looked over his latest machine with a certain amount of satisfaction.

He'd done it this time. He'd really done it. Why he'd never thought of this before...he shook his head.

A net. A laser powered net designed to fire over a wide area; by the time Sonic realised he was caught, he'd be...well, caught. It had taken even Robotnik several hours of hard work and failed tests before he got it working perfectly, and he was now taking a well deserved break and wondering if he'd have time to catch up on the _Science Weekly_ crossword before setting off to meet Sonic.

A shadow fell over him and he glanced up to where Knuckles was gliding in for a landing. Good. He was slowly but surely gaining the echidna's trust, he was certain.

"Guardian."

"Outsider," Knuckles replied in exactly the same tones.

_Very_ slowly, Robotnik admitted grimly. Aloud he said, "It's a pleasure to see you again. What can I do for you?"

Knuckles didn't answer. Instead he stared hard at the machine shielding Robotnik's laser net for a few minutes, then abruptly clambered up it and started to tear it to pieces.

It wasn't a frenzied attack, or an enraged one; it was calm, systematic and by the time Robotnik had registered what had happened, the echidna had dropped down and was staring at him from amid the wreckage, arms folded.

"You tried to make me kill a cub." Knuckles' voice had nails in it. "Consider this a warning."

It was only with the greatest mental effort that Robotnik was able to remind himself sternly that he needed the echidna and blasting Knuckles to atoms, while undoubtedly extremely satisfying, meant that he could kiss goodbye to any chance of getting his hands on the Master Emerald.

It took an equally supreme effort for Robotnik to keep any traces of homicidal rage out of his expression and look deeply hurt, but he managed. "Knuckles! I wish you'd at least granted me a chance to explain—"

"Explain what? I am an echidna. My honour forbids me from attacking any living opponent unable to fight back." Knuckles stared hard at Robotnik. "I'm starting to wonder if you've been entirely straight with me."

"Please, let me just talk—"

"Fine." Leaping into the air, Knuckles gripped a strut and yanked it free of its moorings, snapping it between finger and thumb like a twig, then lunged and seized Robotnik, dragging him down into the dirt.

"Talk," the echidna added in acerbic tones.

Robotnik cleared his throat. "I truly believed that the fox wasn't alive; after all, whoever heard of a fox with two tails? Sonic creates other robotic slaves. It wasn't unreasonable to assume that the fox was the same. When I saw he was bleeding, I immediately left and rushed to tell you the truth before you did something that could stain your honour irreparably."

"Hmp." Mollified – if not entirely convinced – Knuckles backed off enough to let Robotnik up. "And...you didn't kill them then?"

"It takes only a second to commit murder, but a lifetime may not be long enough to wash the stain off one's honour," Robotnik reeled off. It was a favoured echidna proverb.

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain why he's with Sonic. You don't bring young where you're expecting to enter combat."

Robotnik hesitated, then took a deep breath. "You're right, Guardian. I haven't been entirely straight with you since I discovered the truth. I was...well, I confess; I was afraid that you would judge all surfacers by Sonic. The truth is that the cub is a slave. He doesn't remember his parents, and he was living happily in Emerald Hill Zone before Sonic captured him and forced him to accompany him."

Knuckles remained unconvinced. "He seems happy enough."

"An act, I assure you. Sonic wants people to think of him as nice, kind; the good guy, if you like. That little fox cub is forced into pretending that he loves Sonic."

There was a long, long silence.

"You told me earlier that Sonic built this fox," Knuckles said at the end of it. "Then you said you're wrong and that you just assumed because he built everything else he built the cub as well. Now you're telling me that this fox lived in Emerald Hill Zone?"

Robotnik spread his hands to the side. "I did a little research into the matter, Guardian."

"Research?" Knuckles echoed flatly. "Was that before or after you rushed to tell me the truth?"

"Before, of course." Robotnik shook his head. "I don't know what it's going to take to convince you to trust me, Knuckles."

Knuckles raised an eye ridge. "Try a miracle, creature. I don't do trust."

"I was right about Sonic having the Chaos Emeralds, wasn't I?" Robotnik said in humble tones.

There was a long, long silence.

"Yes," Knuckles admitted, sounding as though the words were being dragged from him. "But that doesn't change what you did."

Robotnik shrugged. "I've explained that, haven't I?"

"And like I said to that hedgehog, so much for hydrophobia. I suppose you're going to tell me that was a lie thought up by his enemies."

The doctor shook his head. "No, it's true alright. I know Sonic well; he's terrified of water."

"Know him well?" Knuckles echoed. "Great. How do I know you're not in this together? How do I know he's not going to sneak behind my back and take the—" He shut his mouth with a snap, almost trapping his tongue.

"The Master Emerald?" Robotnik supplied helpfully. "Yes, Knuckles, I know about it," he added in response to the echidna's stare. "We discussed it earlier, remember? Sonic is trying to steal it. Me? I want to stop him."

More silence.

"It wasn't my fault the lakes on Angel Island were drained," Robotnik pointed out, for once truthfully. "Sonic takes pleasure in destruction. You must have noticed that. He even smashed that robot in Hydrocity."

"The one that fired a butt rocket at him?" Knuckles countered, smiling dangerously. He shook his head. "Listen, and listen well, because I don't think you quite understand this. I don't trust you. I don't trust you and I don't think I really like you very much either."

Robotnik shrugged. "That doesn't really matter to me, Guardian. I don't expect someone in such a high position as yourself to trust readily. All that matters is, do you _believe_ me?"

There was a third silence. This one was really going for broke; it was at least five minutes before Knuckles spoke.

"It seems I have no choice. You were right about Sonic, at any rate. He fed me some lie about you wanting to take over the world."

There was a slight lifting of Robotnik's moustache that might have been a small smile.

"Imagine that," he said lightly. "Will you stop him?"

"In Marble Garden Zone?" Knuckles shook his head. "No. I've got more important things to do. You'll have to deal with those two yourself. That _is_ why you came, isn't it?"

"Of course," Robotnik answered. After all, it wasn't quite a lie. "Where can I find you when the job's done?"

"Don't worry about that, creature. I'll find _you_ when I want to talk to you."

_And I thought Sonic was arrogant_, Robotnik thought grimly. Aloud he said, "Very well. Then since you have just destroyed the machine that took me a considerable amount of time to build—" here his pleasant tones slipped slightly— "you had better leave me to construct a new one."

"Do it," Knuckles said curtly. "And this time, it had better _work_."

Turning, he clambered up a tree that had been old and large enough to withstand the firestorm that hedgehog had unleashed on his island, and pushed off, gliding away.

Left alone, Robotnik gritted his teeth. He really was going to take an extraordinary amount of pleasure in double-crossing that arrogant little rodent!

**Okay, so (again) slightly short, but then the Knux/Robotnik chapters always are ;)**


	6. Marble Garden Zone

**TC Chan: Thanks :D Yeah, I can see Robotnik talking himself into a corner before too long ;)**

**DragonRaiderX9: No kidding :P**

**Feniiku: Definitely ;) Not sure when, but it'll probably happen...or at the very least, he's gonna have a narrow escape**

**Forgotten Muse: Heh...oddly enough, I never minded the lava in Hill Top. For some reason crushing traps going from bottom to top don't bug me as much as those going left to right :S**

**Maverick87: Ooh...yep, it's a deal, I'll tell you (grabs peanut butter sandwich and takes huge bite) Wlsnkls rgngtyt tdktnmk ndzthnx (prises tongue off roof of mouth with mini-crowbar) and that's about it ;)**

**HIFox: (blushes) Thanks :) And yep, I'll keep it up**

**SonicRules12: Thanks :D As far as the Knuckles/Robotnik relationship goes...oh yeah, fragile doesn't begin to describe it ;)**

**Milette Tails Prower: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :D Robotnik's lies...I think they'll catch up with him sooner or later...**

**Private somebody: Knuckles...I think he was still furious; he just controlled it well (Besides, if he'd really lost it, chances are Robotnik would probably be in hospital right about now ;)) Marble Gardens...actually, I love that Zone. Sure it's easy to get lost, but the scenery makes up for it :P (As for the Wall of Doom...nope, still don't like it...then again, I'm not fond of any pressure race like that. I like to take time and think about things ;))**

**Guardian Angel of Haven City: Thanks :)**

**Ippiki Ookami no Kage: Heh. I like writing the Knux/Robotnik chapters; those two seem to play off each other nicely :P**

**Nickkp9: Thanks :D As for the answers: 1) I'll have to play Sonic CD again and let you know. If Tails is in that game, he'll be in the adaptation, if not he won't (unless people demand him :P) 2) Yes, the Super Emeralds will be in this; 3) Super Tails and Super/Hyper Knuckles...no, for two reasons. One is that Knuckles needs the Chaos and Super Emeralds to go Hyper, and Sonic's hanging onto 'em ;) The second...man, a five year old like Tails going Super, can you imagine?? Knuckles wouldn't have an island left! ;)**

**Taranea: Heh, thanks :) Part of the fun in writing stories in different Sonic universes (sort of :P) is the fact I get to experiment with different versions and characteristics of Sonic. Favourite rom a writing point of view...it's hard to say. Either Sonic in _Secrets of the Emeralds_ or in _Rising Star_. I'm working on the _Sonic 1_ adaptation, and I think I'm going to have fun with him there too weg ;)**

**D.C.111: Thanks :D**

**Shadow-spawn180: Nice to see you again :D And thanks, glad you liked it!**

Sonic looked down at the ground below them. They'd obviously travelled further than they'd realised in that underwater maze; there was no sign of either the jungle or the fire. Instead, he was staring at what could only be the ruins of a city. The foundations were incredible, stretching out as far as the eye could see in perfectly arranged lines of white marble. Here and there a wall had survived intact, and there seemed to be no shortage of pillars. The entire scene was mesmerising, almost breathtaking.

It was also getting closer at a rapidly increasing speed, since gravity had just worked out what had been going on and was now attempting to make up for lost time by dragging Sonic and Tails back down. Mobian gravity was considerably less powerful than its counterparts on other worlds, however; it was perfectly possible to survive a fall of a few hundred yards without serious injury.

Sonic hit the ground rolling and then, because he'd accidentally landed on a steep slope, continued gathering speed as he dropped from one slope to the next, finally crashing into a pillar at close on ninety miles an hour.

There was a thwapping sound and Tails landed next to him a lot more gracefully, beaming.

"Wow! That was the best spin attack _ever_, Sonic!"

Sonic blinked at him, eyes not quite focusing. "It...was?"

Tails nodded vigorously, sitting next to him and looking into the hedgehog's face adoringly. "Yup! Even better'n when you pounce attacked me back in Casino Night Zone, 'member?"

Sonic sat up, then regretted it as the world wobbled crazily around him, causing him to groan. That was all he needed; to escape that damn underwater maze and get a concussion five minutes later.

After two or three minutes had gone by, his surroundings slowed down a little and he got shakily to his feet. No concussion. Thank goodness for that.

Now where the hell was he?

"Sonic? Sonic, are you okay?" Tails' voice still echoed slightly in the hedgehog's ears, but nowhere near as badly as before.

"Yeah, lil buddy. I'm fine."

"Boy, I bet you're happy to be outta that water place, huh Sonic?"

The hedgehog managed a broad grin. "You bet your two tails I am, squirt."

"Where are we?"

Sonic frowned slightly. "I'm not sure. Some kind of garden?"

In a strange way, the place reminded him of the Aquatic Ruin Zone back on Westside Island. This location had the same kind of peaceful air about it, almost like time had frozen. Marble buildings – mostly white, but with a few other colours scattered through it – were still partially upright, and Sonic could just about make out a marble path underneath the thick grass. Curious, he followed it as it wound through more species of shrubs and flowering plants than he'd ever seen in his life, curving around a (fortunately) dry fountain and finally leading the hedgehog to a gazebo that was still in reasonably good shape compared to the rest of the buildings. Sonic was no expert in landscaping, but it didn't take a genius to work out that the place must have been designed as one huge ornamented garden.

_Huge being the word_, Sonic thought, staring around. His vantage point was high enough for him to see most of the land ahead, and it looked like it stretched for miles. Despite his fondness for natural beauty over organised, Sonic felt a small pang of regret that he'd never be able to see this place as it was in its heyday.

"Sonic?" Tails said in hushed tones.

"Yeah, lil buddy?"

"Is the city dead?"

Sonic shook his head perplexedly. "I don't know, squirt. I don't think anyone's lived here, though, not for a long time."

"Me neither." Tails flattened his ears. "Mebbe there's ghosts here, huh Sonic?"

The hedgehog laughed. "Ghosts don't exist, Tails. Everyone knows that."

Fearful of losing his big brother's approval, Tails hastily backtracked. "Oh sure! I mean, I know that an' _you_ know that! But mebbe nobody ever told the ghosts that they're not s'posed to exist."

Sonic laughed again. "That's not quite how it works, squirt." He winked. "Tell you what. If we see any ghosts on this island, I'll buy you the biggest double layered triple frosted chocolate fudge cake you can imagine."

Tails licked his lips. "Bigger'n a beach ball, Sonic?"

"You bet." Sonic ruffled the fur on Tails' head affectionately. "C'mon. Let's go."

"We gonna go whump ol' Robotnik?" Tails said hopefully.

"You bet," Sonic said again.

"_Yeah_!" Tails grabbed Sonic's hand and squeezed it happily as the pair of them walked along, occasionally pointing out interesting sights to the other as though this was nothing more than a vacation.

Their shared enthusiasm lasted as long as it took for them to come to the end of the path, which dumped them in front of a building that looked to be mostly intact. What looked like a giant mace was swinging around in a circle, cutting off their way ahead.

"Sonic?" Tails whispered, as though the mace could hear them.

The hedgehog inclined his head downwards. "Yeah squirt?"

"Are we gonna go through that big crushy thing?"

"Looks that way," Sonic admitted.

"Oh." Tails thought hard for a few minutes, then brightened up. "I jus' got a real cool idea, Sonic!"

The hedgehog eyed him with amusement, and a certain amount of trepidation. "Yeah...?"

"Yup! 'Cause you can race up an' spin through that dumb chain an' then we can race in after the big crushy thing's rolled down the hill, huh Sonic?"

Sonic hesitated. Tails' idea would definitely stop the mace from whirling around in front of the entrance, but he wasn't entirely convinced that having it thunder down the hill towards them would be much of an improvement.

"I got a better idea. C'mere." Crouching down, he hoisted Tails into his arms. "I want you to turn your head away and bury it in my fur, okay?"

Tails frowned up at him. "How's that gonna stop the big crushy thing, Sonic?"

Sonic winked. "Trust me, lil bro."

In fact, he had no intention of stopping the big crushy thing, as Tails put it; the only reason he'd told the little fox not to look was that he didn't want him seeing what would happen if Sonic screwed this up.

Taking a deep breath, Sonic waited until the mace started to swing up, then bolted underneath. There was a strong gust of wind, strong enough to send him staggering forward a few paces, then it passed.

"_Cool_!" Tails was beaming all over his little face, eyes glowing. "That was real cool, Sonic, how you pretended the big crushy thing almost squished us! Can we do it again?"

"No!" In spite of what had just happened, Sonic preened slightly; _cool_ was the highest praise the little fox could bestow on anything.

"Oh. Okay." Tails' beam became, if it was possible, even wider. "Hey, mebbe there's more crushy things to dodge, huh Sonic?"

Sonic, whose adrenal glands had just kicked into overdrive, grinned broadly. "You could be right, squirt. Let's go see, huh?"

"Yeah!" Tails wriggled out of Sonic's arms to land on the ground and scampered ahead, using both namesakes for added velocity.

Sonic shook his head, still grinning, and raced to catch up.

Instinct – as well as Tails' sudden yelp – warned him and he hit the deck as an arrow flashed over his head to shatter against the still whirling mace.

"Tails?" The little fox was curled up, holding one shoulder tightly. "Tails, are you okay?"

Tails nodded vigorously. "Yup! I'm okay, 'cause that arrow thing didn't hurt my shoulder, Sonic! It missed me by this much!" He stretched both arms out to the side to indicate, and Sonic noticed the red stain in his fur.

"If you're okay, then what's that?" he asked, pointing.

The little fox flattened his ears. "Nothing! The arrow didn't hurt me, Sonic, so you don't gotta take me to have another shot."

"Tails…" Realising for the first time what was behind Tails' vehement denials, Sonic shook his head wryly, crouching down. "C'mere."

Tails backed away, shaking his head. "Not gonna get a shot, Sonic!"

"No, you don't need one now. C'mon, squirt, lemme see."

The little fox hesitated. "Then why'd you make me get a shot last time I got hurt by an arrow?"

Sonic laughed. "That shot'll last you ten years, lil bro, remember?"

Tails' face cleared. "Yeah!" He took a step towards Sonic, then hesitated. "_Promise_ you're not gonna make me get a shot?"

"I promise, squirt. I just wanna take a look, that's all."

Tails edged forward, keeping a suspicious eye on Sonic until he was close enough for the hedgehog to take hold of his arm and examine him.

It wasn't as bad as Sonic had feared; the arrow had nicked the skin, but that was about it.

"Okay buddy." Releasing him, he straightened up. "Did you see where the arrow came from?"

Tails nodded. "Uh huh! It got shot out of that thing!" He pointed to the far wall, where a stone head had either been carved or mounted, giving the overall effect of a tribal mask.

Sonic moved closer, every muscle tense and ready, but no more arrows were fired. Maybe it had run out, or run down.

Eventually, he was right underneath it and staring up. Something about it reminded him strongly of Aquatic Ruin; the arrows there had been fired from smaller stone faces, but the principle was still the same.

Had something happened? Nobody on Westside Island had been able to tell him who the original inhabitants of Aquatic Ruin had been. Had there been some kind of disaster, something that caused a flood of cataclysmic proportions and either drowned or driven out the residents? Was this island the last refuge for them?

Sonic considered. It would certainly explain why they hadn't seen any creatures similar to his attacker down on the surface.

Maybe it hadn't been a natural disaster. Maybe it had been some kind of war; although Mobius was at peace now, it hadn't always been that way, and the ruins here and back in Aquatic Ruin were old enough to have been around in those darker ages. Maybe the builders been killed or forced into exile, and that was why he hadn't seen any here; they were frightened to show themselves to anyone who might be a potential enemy. Perhaps they'd forgotten all their history and just viewed him as a threat and outsider.

Sonic frowned. That theory fitted in with the only inhabitant he'd met so far, but something about it didn't ring true. The creature admitted he'd spoken with Robotnik, after all. Wouldn't a xenophobic culture be even more wary of the doctor? After all, even to a race which hadn't been down to the surface in centuries, it was obvious Robotnik wasn't exactly local.

Not to mention the little fact that he had a tendency to shoot or roboticise anyone he met. The fact that he'd _spoken _to that guy was...

The hedgehog's frown deepened. It was out of character, and that made him uneasy.

_The question is, what the hell would the doc have to gain by pitting that guy against me?_

Death? No. No, that couldn't be it. Robotnik was more than happy to undertake the task of killing Sonic. If he was going to all that trouble to manipulate someone, he must have a damn good reason.

Well, maybe he'd be able to answer that question later. In the meantime, he still had to find a way down. He paused, deep in thought. The faces in Aquatic Ruin had been too firmly embedded in the pillars for this, but here...

Leaping into the air, Sonic spun up the side of the face, slicing through the stone. It took him two attempts before he really got any results, and a third one before he actually managed to destroy the arrow launcher.

Whether it was the destruction of the statue, the gouges Sonic had carved out of the wall or something else entirely, the hedgehog never found out. Whatever it was, however, it caused the floor to drop out from underneath him, dumping Sonic on his behind in an underground passage.

Tails flew down next to him, padded up and down for a few minutes, then came to stand in front of the hedgehog and fixed him with an appealing gaze.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

Tails licked his lips. "I'm real hungry. C'n we buy some food?"

Sonic looked around. "I'm not sure there's anywhere on this island that sells food, squirt, but we can probably find you some fruit."

The little fox sighed gustily. "But I'm not fruit hungry, Sonic. I'm chocolate hungry."

Sonic laughed. "Oh, well, that I can't help you with, lil bro. I didn't bring any chocolate with me."

Tails sighed again. "But I _gotta_ eat chocolate, Sonic, 'cause it's got iron in it."

Sonic groaned aloud. Someone (and there'd be hell to pay when he found out who) had told Tails that iron was good, that iron helped you stay healthy and that you needed plenty of iron in your diet. Which was all well and good, except that person had also told the little fox that chocolate happened to be extremely high in that particular element.

"You get iron from other things, kiddo."

"Yeah, but none as good as chocolate, right Sonic? An' I gotta eat 'cause otherwise I'm not gonna grow."

That was another point, probably brought up by the same person who'd told Tails about iron. The little fox was small for his age, mostly due to his having to scavenge and forage for his own food for two years before Sonic had arrived on the scene.

Not that Tails had a poor appetite. Quite the opposite, in fact; Sonic still remembered their first meal together, when the little fox had scarfed down a chilli dog, fries and a large soda in just under a minute.

"You've already grown, squirt."

Tails' eyes grew huge, hopeful. "I _have_?"

"Oh yeah. Pretty soon you'll be able to give me rides instead of the other way around, huh?"

Tails giggled. "I already give you rides, Sonic! 'Cause you can't fly, 'member?"

Sonic winked. "True. C'mon. I think I saw some pella trees up there. You still hungry?"

The little fox's face lit up. "You bet I am!" He paused. "But…how're we gonna open them, Sonic? 'Cause you can't open pellas without a hammer or a big metal saw-y thing, so how're we gonna do it?"

"We're gonna hit it with a rock, squirt. That's how they usually open, after all."

Tails hesitated, then shook his head doubtfully. "Uh uh. That's not how they did it in that restaurant we were in, 'member Sonic?"

Sonic shook his head wryly. He did remember, not least because Tails had been on a sugar high and insisted on poking his little snout around every single door in the place, including the one leading into the kitchen.

"Yeah, but they only used buzz saws in that restaurant so's they could serve the fruit in two neat halves. Since we're not bothered about that, we can just pound 'em open. Let's go."

He and Tails jumped onto a platform which seemed to have been placed there purely to allow access to the higher levels. To his relief, Sonic found that he'd been right; there were pella trees growing all around them, remnants of what must have been a huge and (presumably) well-tended orchard. Reaching up, Sonic pulled down a large fruit and handed it to Tails, then took another for himself.

"Here. Since there's nobody around, I guess we can help ourselves." He winked at the little fox, who beamed back at him and then started pounding the hard shell with a nearby rock.

It took the rest of the morning and the loads of two more pella trees before Tails finally pronounced himself full, and by then he was too stuffed to move. Sonic eventually left him snoozing peacefully in a fairly well concealed room and went to scout ahead.

It had been something of a wasted effort too, he thought upon returning much later. There were no signs of life, and about the only good thing to come of it was that Sonic had found another of those giant rings and managed to grab the light blue Emerald from inside. He had to admit, he was almost looking forward to meeting his mysterious antagonist once he had all seven Emeralds again.

_Yeah. Once I got all those, it's payback time...unless I can find someone here who's willing to listen to me_.

Sonic had to admit, the likelihood of that last one was diminishing fast with every hour he spent exploring. If it wasn't too incredible to even consider, the hedgehog might have supposed he and Tails (oh, alright, and Robotnik and that stranger, he added grudgingly) were the only ones on the whole island.

Tails was still fast asleep, a small smile on his face. Whatever he was dreaming about must be pretty good, Sonic thought wryly, and turned away, looking for somewhere to sit.

"Pounce attack!"

The words and the ambush took the hedgehog completely by surprise, and he had time for one yelp before being knocked onto his back, Tails perched on his chest.

"I gotcha, Sonic! I really gotcha good, huh?"

Sonic laughed. Most of the time when Tails attempted to catch him unawares, he pretended to go along with it to stop the little fox from feeling bad, but this time he'd been genuinely caught off guard.

"You bet you did, squirt!"

"Yeah!" Tails bounced up and down a few times, apparently oblivious to the fact that he was doing it on Sonic's ribs, then yipped in surprise as the hedgehog caught hold of him and yanked him back. "AAH! No noogies! No noogies!"

Sonic grinned broadly. "Sorry, squirt. It's a Mobian law that all little brothers get noogied at least once a day."

"Yeah, but...but not...not..." Tails racked his brains furiously.

"Not what?" Sonic asked, after two or three minutes had ticked by in silence.

"Not if their name begins with T!" Tails said triumphantly. "An'—what's that, Sonic?"

Sonic glanced down to where the light blue Chaos Emerald had rolled out when Tails had pounced on him.

"It's a Chaos Emerald, squirt. I got it while you were asleep."

Tails fixed him with a look of almost comical betrayal. "You got a Chaos Em'rald without me?"

Sonic reached down to rub Tails' belly. "Yeah, squirt, 'cause if I hadn't jumped through that ring, it would have vanished."

"B-but…you got one without _me_." Tails' eyes were huge with hurt. "How come you didn't wake me, huh Sonic? How come?"

Sonic reached out and scratched behind Tails' ears, grinning as the little fox leaned into the caress.

"I couldn't wake you, squirt. I didn't want to miss the chance of getting an Emerald, or old Robotnik could have snuck in and got it instead."

The look in Tails' eyes changed to one of pure horror. "He _could_?"

"Yeah, buddy, he could." Sonic conveniently left out the fact that, as far as he knew, Robotnik couldn't enter the Special Zones. "C'mon." He darted out the room and, when Tails flew down to join him, pointed to a fountain that clearly hadn't seen water for some time. "Race you!"

Tails squealed with delight and took off, flying just low enough for his toes to brush the top of the grass. Sonic hung back, giving him a decent head start, then raced after him.

A robot leapt up from the long grass, one which reminded Sonic strongly of the mantis ones back in Metropolis Zone. By the time the hedgehog registered its presence, however, he'd already gone underneath it and was ten feet away.

There was a distinctive _poom_ from behind him and Tails flew up, beaming all over his face.

"I whumped it, Sonic!" He shook his head, fixing the hedgehog with a stern look. "You gotta be more careful; I'm not always gonna be around to save your butt an' whump things for you."

Biting his cheeks in an effort not to laugh – Tails looked so very serious! – Sonic compromised with himself by breaking into a grin.

"I guess I'm just gonna have to try harder, huh? What happened to the creature inside it?"

Tails glanced around. "Uh. I think it went somewhere over there." He pointed, and the hedgehog saw a chipmunk scurrying away through the long grasses.

Sonic frowned. "Another feral? What's with this place?"

Tails thought long and hard before saying, "Mebbe the people up here don't wanna be turned into robots."

"Believe it or not, lil bro, most of the people down on the surface aren't too crazy about the idea either," Sonic remarked, "but that doesn't stop Robotnik."

He looked around. There was no sign of any more bots, but that didn't have to mean anything. Sonic still remembered the ones he'd fought back in the Jungle Zone; strange insectoid ones that Robotnik had fitted with a cloaking device.

As they went on, however, it became obvious that the green bot had been something of an isolated incident; Sonic and Tails saw another mace, a pillar with spikes on the end that kept pounding the ground rhythmically and more sets of spikes on the ground than either of them could count (especially Tails, who still had an occasional tendency to jump from a hundred to a million when counting) but no more bots.

"Mebbe ol' Robotnik hasn't been able to build enough bots yet?" Tails suggested, when Sonic mentioned this to him.

The hedgehog hesitated. That was a tempting thought, but somehow it didn't quite ring true; given the parts, Robotnik could put together a robot in under an hour.

Besides, the Death Egg had crashed on this island six months ago. That would have given the doctor more than enough time to build up his armies. Maybe he was relying on the traps in this place to get the job done?

Sonic considered this idea, then tossed it on the scrapheap. Robotnik wasn't the kind of person to trust such a thing to mere spikes and maces, especially not when the hedgehog had already proven so good at avoiding them.

Tails landed next to him, looking morose. "Is the race over, Sonic?"

Glancing at the little fox, Sonic grinned. "Not yet. How about we change it to the top of that hill?"

"Yeah!" Tails exploded into action, racing forwards with a speed that privately impressed Sonic, who took care to keep a good foot or so behind the little fox as the pair sprinted up the hill and skidded to a halt at the top.

"I beat you, Sonic!" Tails was hopping on the spot ecstatically. "I beat you! Guess you're jus' the _second_ fastest guy on Mobius, huh?"

Sonic laughed. "I guess so."

Tails fixed the hedgehog with a look. "But I won't tell anyone, Sonic. At least not if you _promise_ I never have to have a bath again!"

"Nice try, squirt. C'mon. Let's…" Sonic's voice trailed off as he caught sight of what lay ahead.

A pit. More specifically, a pit full of dark brown sludge. The hedgehog frowned. What was it? Mud? Oil? Some kind of quicksand?

Well, whatever it was, he knew damn well he didn't want to end up in it. Taking a long run up, he leapt, clearing the pit neatly and landing on a conical platform with perfect accuracy (and a lot more luck than judgment).

Unlike other platforms he'd stood on, this one fired itself along a set path, skimming the top of the grass as it carried the startled hedgehog over various chasms, down a huge shaft and along the lower levels of the gardens.

Sonic was just starting to relax, and even think that he was beginning to get used to this, and how nice it would be if he could just ride this thing around the rest of the island, when a blue robot leapt out of a pot plant and knocked him flying.

"Sonic!" Tails, who had been doing his best to keep up with the platform (and hadn't done too badly, the hedgehog allowed) slammed into the bot from above, driving it down and crushing it against the earth. "Sonic, are you okay?"

Sonic pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah, lil bro, I'm…" He paused, catching sight of something out the corner of his eye. Reaching down, he started tugging bushes and shrubs out the way, eventually revealing a shield monitor, one which was displaying a crude design of a lightning bolt. An electrical shield?

Sonic hesitated, then shrugged and punched the button hard. Seconds later, he was surrounded by what looked like a ball of lightning.

"_Cool_!" Tails reached out to touch the shield, then withdrew his finger with a yelp as sparks earthed themselves in his fur. "Sonic! Why'd you zap me?"

Sonic shook his head, grinning. "I didn't, kiddo; the shield did." Glancing at their surroundings, he added, "Now which way do we go?"

"I know! I know!" Tails bounced up and down, one hand in the air. "We gotta go down, Sonic!"

Laughing at Tails' antics, Sonic followed the little fox to what looked like a small chute in the ground.

"You want us to go down there, squirt?"

"Yeah, 'cause it's kinda like a slide, huh Sonic?"

The hedgehog hesitated just long enough for Tails to get worried, then caught the little fox's eye and winked at him.

"Why not?"

Tails let out a loud war whoop and bounded forward, diving headfirst into the opening. Shaking his head in amusement, Sonic waited a few minutes to give the little fox time to reach the bottom and get out of the way, then jumped in himself.

He fell for a good ten seconds before reaching the bottom, and when he did the impact sent him rolling into the room, which was now rumbling ominously. As Sonic snapped onto his feet, a strange metal bot, larger than the others, drilled down from the ceiling, shaking rocks and stalactites loose. To Sonic's amazement, the projectiles bounced harmlessly off his shield.

The hedgehog grinned broadly. "Now _this_ is cool!"

Timing his moment carefully, he leapt into the air just as the bot was starting on its way up again. With the shield in place, his quills were useless, but his speed and momentum were more than enough to land a solid hit.

Damaged, but unbeaten, the robot continued up, dislodging more missiles. This time Sonic didn't bother dodging; instead, he made a point of darting underneath them just for the fun of seeing them bounce off again.

"Yeah, you better run!" he yelled after it, grinning like an idiot. The feeling of invulnerability was exhilarating, almost dizzying in its intensity.

"Yeah!" Picking up on Sonic's mood, Tails was in the air after the robot, trying to wriggle through the newly carved tunnel.

Further rumbling announced the bot's return, and Sonic's grin broadened. Time for round two.

Remembering what had happened with the water shield, he tried a 'double' jump. To his delight, it worked; something propelled him another six feet into the air to crash down onto the robot.

"Oh _yes_!" For a few minutes, Sonic amused himself by double jumping, seeing just how high he could get before crashing onto his target.

It took four or five rounds, but eventually the drilling bot's motors failed and it crashed to the ground, closely followed by the hedgehog.

From his position on the ground and out of the way of any potential missiles, Tails bounced onto his feet and started clapping.

"That was the coolest bot-whumping _ever_! You're so cool, Sonic!"

The hedgehog bowed, a wicked gleam in his eyes. "Thankyou, thankyou."

Taking off again, Tails looked around. "Where now, Sonic?"

Sonic straightened up with a flourish. "I would guess…thataway." He pointed to a larger passageway that seemed to wind up on a much gentler incline than the one they'd come in by.

"Okay!" Tails flew forward, closely followed by a still buzzing Sonic.

The trip back into the fresh air was somewhat unremarkable, in that nothing leapt out of the walls, floor or ceiling to try and kill them. It also came to something of an abrupt halt when they emerged at what looked like the bottom of a funnel, or one of those rolling ball games. Apprehensive now – Sonic didn't think his shield was powerful enough to protect him from a giant boulder – the hedgehog craned his neck back, trying to see up the steep slopes.

Nothing. Just a ring attached to a rope on each one. The slopes were too far for Tails to fly him – although the little fox could probably manage to get himself up there without too much difficulty – too steep to climb and too high for Sonic to jump, even with his shield.

Well, there was more than one way to solve a problem.

Leaping into the air, using his shield for added lift, Sonic caught hold of the ring closest to him with a view to pulling himself up on the rope. As it turned out, this wasn't necessary; the ring clicked down and was then dragged uphill by an invisible force. Kicking out against the grass, Sonic leapt across to the next ring and from the top of that ridge to a flat platform. There was no obvious way down except a narrow opening between two rows of spikes.

Sonic swallowed. "Tails?"

The little fox, who had flown up behind him, landed with a bump and looked up at him. "Yup?"

Sonic pointed to the opening. "Can you get me down there?"

Tails squinted at it, then nodded. "You bet!"

"Are you sure?" If Tails' namesakes cramped, or if he got too tired to keep Sonic up…the hedgehog shivered.

"You bet! C'mon!"

Before Sonic had time to react, Tails had seized him under the arms and hoisted him into the air, flying as fast as he could towards the tunnel.

The thought occurred to the hedgehog that he should have sent Tails on ahead to see what was down there. Maybe there was nothing at the end of that tunnel but more spikes. Maybe it was a trap.

As it was, Sonic turned out to be partly right; there was one great big spike waiting for them in the room underneath, and it was fastened to Robotnik's latest device.

Bounding to his feet, wondering how many more curve balls this strange island was going to throw at him, Sonic caught hold of Tails and pushed him behind him.

"Robotnik?"

"Sonic?"

For a long moment, the two adversaries stared at each other, both equally caught off guard by their unexpected meeting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sonic said eventually.

"Just testing out my Egg Drill." Without waiting for a response, Robotnik started his engine and rose into the air, burrowing through the ceiling.

The hedgehog shifted his weight, suddenly uneasy. For Robotnik to show up and not try to kill him…that was more unnerving than if the doctor had whipped out an atomic warhead.

"What's his game?" he said aloud.

"Um…" Tails put his finger to his lips thoughtfully. "Whump The Hedgehog?"

Sonic managed a laugh. "Thanks squirt. I can always count on you to cheer me up."

Puzzled – he hadn't meant to be funny – but happy that Sonic was happy, Tails beamed. They were walking now, both pacing around the confines of the room in the hopes of finding a way out.

Nothing. Not even a suspicious looking statue to move.

It took four circuits before Tails spotted a flash of blue and scampered over to pull weeds and grass away from it (and just how were those growing underground? Sonic wondered).

"What've you found?" he said lightly.

"I dunno." Tails frowned at his discovery, which looked like nothing so much as a giant blue cylinder. "It's kinda like those big crushy wheel things we found in Metropolis Zone, Sonic, 'member?"

Sonic hesitated. Yes, now Tails had mentioned it, the thing did have a strange mechanical look to it...

"Mebbe you should spin it!" Tails suggested brightly.

The hedgehog considered, then shrugged. What the hell. It wasn't like he had any better ideas.

Dropping to the ground, he revved up against the cylinder. To his surprise, it worked; there was the unmistakable rumble of machinery and the object started rotating rapidly in the opposite direction.

"Wow!" Tails reached out to grab Sonic, then caught sight of the still spinning hedgehog and thought better of it; at those speeds, it would have been like sticking his hand into a sausage mincer. "Sonic, you gotta see this!"

"Huh? What?" Sonic straightened and turned, then stared. "What the…?"

Tails pointed to where the ground had sunk down into three separate tiers. "You made the ground fall! See?"

The idea of going further down wasn't one that greatly appealed to Sonic – part of him was half expecting to fall out the bottom of the Island at this rate – but there didn't seem to be any other way forward and so he jumped down into the tunnel.

He and Tails had been going for about half an hour when the ground started to rumble again.

"Why's the ground moving, Sonic?" Tails demanded. He sounded put out, as though the ground had deliberately started shaking to annoy him.

"I dunno, squirt." Sonic forced his own voice to remain calm. "But something tells me it's not good. Let's keep moving, okay?"

"You bet!" Grabbing Sonic's hand, Tails raced forward, pulling the hedgehog after him and eventually emerging in a large room. The gaping hole in the ceiling coupled with Robotnik's Egg Drill came as no real surprise to either of them.

"You again?" Tails said indignantly.

"I could say the same thing. I could also say many more things, cub, mostly along the lines of how far do I have to go to get away?"

"What are you doing here?" Sonic asked for the second time.

"I'm _trying_ to test out my Egg Drill, Sonic," Robotnik said testily. "Do pay attention; we've already been through this."

Sonic folded his arms, glaring at him. "You tricked that guy, didn't you? The one who's been following us around and trying to kill us?"

Robotnik chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't say _trick_, Sonic; he didn't take a great deal of convincing. But yes, I tricked him. What are you going to do about it?"

Sonic clenched a fist. "I'm gonna blow this whole thing open, Robotnik! Next time I see him, I'm telling him the truth about you!"

The doctor laughed. "Please do, Sonic! After all, last time you tried that I could see you had him in the palm of your hand."

Tails took off onto an eye level with Robotnik, although this time he took care to keep out of arm's reach. "Yeah, well, that shows how dumb _you_ are, ol' Robotnik!"

Robotnik glanced down at Sonic. "Will you tell this little brat to drop the _old_ before I really get angry?"

The hedgehog snorted. "He's five years old, doc. To him, everyone in double digits is old. Or in your case, I guess that should be triple. You're not exactly a spring chicken, are you?"

Ignoring this by-play, Tails continued loudly. "'Cause he couldn't fit in Sonic's hand, 'cause he's a real big ugly guy!"

"Tails!" Sonic said sharply. "The guy's not ugly, he's just...well...he's..."

"An echidna," Robotnik supplied, with an air of one just bursting to be helpful.

"Yeah, exactly. He's not ugly; he's just an echidna. Whatever that is," Sonic added under his breath. Folding his arms, he fixed Robotnik with a cold stare. "Just what are you up to, doc?"

Robotnik didn't have eyebrows to raise, but he still did his best. "I'm hardly likely to tell you, Sonic, am I?"

"You gotta!" Tails said indignantly. "You gotta tell Sonic 'cause you're a bad guy bent on world destri—distric—world whumping, an' they _always_ tell the hero what they're gonna do!"

A slight smile curled Robotnik's moustache up at the ends. "Yes, I know. And they have the nerve to call themselves an evil genius." He shook his head. "In the first place, this is real life and in the second, that only seems to happen with people who want to destroy the world."

"An' _you_ wanna!" Tails insisted doggedly.

"How on earth am I supposed to conquer, rule and enslave the world's population if I've just wiped it out? Do have a little common sense," Robotnik said, his manner more suited to that of a teacher on a bad day than his normal megalomaniacal self. He shook his head. "In any case, I don't have time to waste on immature banter of this kind."

"I'm _not_ a bantam, I'm a fox!" Tails shouted.

The doctor chuckled. "A fox with two tails?" He shook his head again. "There's no such animal. You're nothing but a freak."

The insult hit home; Tails flattened his ears and sidled closer to Sonic, both namesakes twining agitatedly around each other.

"Take a hike, Robuttnik!" Sonic said sharply.

The human grinned, the unexpectedness of the gesture catching Sonic off-guard.

"Gladly, hedgehog."

Flicking switches, he lifted his Egg Drill into the air and burrowed through the ceiling, creating another sizeable hole. The ground and walls rumbled around Sonic, but he was used to that by now and took no notice.

"Sonic?" Tails said in a small voice.

"Yeah?"

"I don't wanna scare you, but I think the roof's about to squish us."

"What!" Sonic craned his head back to see that Tails was right; the ceiling was definitely coming down. Not a cave-in, but some kind of mechanical defence similar to the wall.

Sonic stared at it for a few seconds, then grabbed Tails and ran for his life, leaping onto a ledge and ducking a particularly low overhanging. This was worse than that underwater maze, even worse than the time in Hill Top Zone when they'd been in a volcano and it had erupted. At least in the maze he'd known he could go forward, and in Hill Top...well, he'd ducked out a side vent, but there had also been an exit up above. Granted the only likely way for him and Tails to have reached it would have been somewhat terminal, but still…

Just what was _doing_ this? Sonic wondered frantically. It seemed to be triggered wherever he went; he'd darted through a small tunnel and felt the roof of _that_ drop after him.

Two tunnels presented themselves invitingly, one six feet above the other. Without even thinking about it, Sonic leapt into the higher one and kept running.

"Sonic!" Tails' yelp went through the hedgehog's head like a nail file. "Sonic, it's a dead end!"

Sonic hit the brakes, skidding a full twenty yards along and two feet deep. Ironically, it was this that saved him, since there was no way he'd have been able to run along the ground's surface fast enough to escape.

Running as fast as he could, he darted back along his skid trail and leapt for the next ledge, using his shield to reach another, higher point. It was getting lighter up ahead; surely that meant they were almost out? Sonic ducked under a rapidly descending pillar and picked up the pace, weaving in and out of other obstructions, going up wherever he could.

They'd almost made it when a set of spikes stood up and spat a plasma ball at them.

"What the—" Sonic jammed on the brakes, staring at the spikes. "How…"

"Sonic, the roof's still trying to squish us!" Tails shouted. Sonic winced; he could feel a headache coming on.

He jumped, intending to reach the next ledge and the welcome expanse of sky he could see there, but the lower part of the ceiling clipped him on the way up and he fell onto the attacking spikes.

And bounced.

It was so surprising, so unexpected, that for a minute all Sonic could do was stop and let gravity keep him bouncing.

"Sonic! We gotta _go_!"

Tails was right. Sonic's head was already brushing the ceiling at the apex of each bounce, and he readied himself to aim for the ledge, even as he knew the height he was getting wouldn't be enough to see him over the spikes.

"C'mon!" Tails shifted his grasp and seized Sonic by the wrists, flying him forward and onto the ledge. Seconds later, the ceiling completed its descent, closing the gap.

"Has it stopped?" Tails asked in a very small voice.

"Yeah." Sonic was gasping for breath, a reaction caused more by adrenaline and fear than fatigue. "Yeah, I think so." He looked around. The gardens were as peaceful and tranquil as they'd been before he dropped into that first tunnel. It was hard to believe that half a minute ago he and Tails had been racing for their lives underground.

"Why'd the roof want to squish us?" Tails asked plaintively.

"I don't know, squirt." Sonic took a long, deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it out with a _whoosh_. "I don't know. But let's stay out here where there aren't any roofs, okay?"

"Okay." Tails trotted forward, then caught sight of something and broke into a run, racing up overgrown marble steps to a gazebo.

"Dammit, Tails, what did I just—" Catching up with the little fox, Sonic saw what had attracted Tails and felt the words dry up in his throat.

"I found another ring, Sonic!" Tails fixed the hedgehog with a stern look. "An' I'm gonna go with you this time, _aren't _I?"

Sonic grinned, good mood restored by this unexpected piece of luck. "You bet, lil bro. C'mon! Race you!"

Tails yipped excitedly and bounded through the ring, closely followed by Sonic.

"Ooh! Look!" Tails pointed, and Sonic followed his gaze to a golden coloured sphere. "What's that do, Sonic?"

Sonic shrugged. "No idea, squirt. Maybe it's worth ten blue ones or something."

"_Yeah_!" Eager now, Tails scampered over to the yellow sphere and hurled himself against it. Both he and Sonic were considerably surprised when it didn't vanish like the blue ones did, but instead ricocheted him off at an angle and sent him flying through a row of blue spheres and smack into a red one.

"Tails!" Sonic started towards him, then stopped as he realised the little fox had vanished.

_You wondered what would happen if you touched a red sphere?_ something inside asked. _Now you know._

Well, there was no reason why the Special Zone hadn't just spat Tails back onto that island, Sonic reasoned, although the one thing he'd learned never to expect from this insane place was logic.

Collecting enough blue spheres to catch the Emerald – in this case, the yellow one – wasn't too hard, Sonic thought as he zipped neatly in and around the bumpers. The spheres were arranged in certain patterns, and once you had the knack and timing of getting those, it wasn't so tough.

Reaching out, he managed to grab the Emerald and instantly found himself warped back to the same platform he'd just left. To his immense relief, Tails was there too, hopping from one foot to the next in an agony of suspense.

"_Sonic_! Didja get it? Huh Sonic? Didja?"

Grinning slightly at the little fox's anxiety, Sonic pulled out the Chaos Emerald with a flourish. To his surprise, Tails' ears drooped slightly.

"I wanted it to be the blue one, Sonic, 'cause that's the same colour as you."

"Well, we got the light blue one, didn't we?"

The disappointment on Tails' face vanished, to be replaced by an accusatory scowl. "_You_ got the light blue one! You went in without _me_, Sonic, an' you got this one without me too!"

Sonic folded his arms. "It's not my fault you got bounced into a red ball, squirt."

"Is too! You were the one who tole me yellow balls were the same as ten blue ones!"

"I made a mistake, squirt." Catching hold of Tails, he swung him up into his arms and broke into a run, not stopping until he heard the little fox shrieking with delight. Slowing to a stop, he grinned down at the little fox. "Better now?"

By way of an answer, Tails flung both arms around Sonic's neck and hugged him tightly.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sonic said, his grin broadening as he started to walk forward again.

It was lucky he was still carrying Tails; the ground abruptly began to tremble and drop out from underneath his feet, and if he hadn't had a firm hold on the little fox, Sonic would have fallen.

Tails, who had been somewhat taken aback at this latest development, clung onto the hedgehog grimly, namesakes going for all they were worth. Looking down, Sonic saw the gleam of spikes underneath them and swallowed hard.

"Thanks, lil bro." Looking up, he added, "You're a lifesaver."

Tails beamed. "I sure am, huh Sonic? I'm getting real good at saving you!"

Sonic managed a grin. "Well, they say practice makes perfect."

"Yeah! An' I been getting _loadsa_ practice!" Tails zipped about happily, the resulting physical laws sending Sonic swinging out like a crazed blue pendulum. "An'—" He broke off abruptly, small body tense. "Ol' Robotnik!"

Sonic couldn't spin around, but he did his best, craning his neck around to see Robotnik hovering there in his Egg Drill, grinning.

"You seem to be in rather a tight spot, Sonic."

"What, this?" Sonic snorted. "Hardly. I'm just working on a new form of exercise, aren't I, Tails?"

"Huh?" Tails' little face crinkled in thought. "Nuh uh, Sonic; I saved you 'cause you were about to get whumped by the spikes, 'member?"

_One of these days, I really must have a little talk with him_, Sonic thought grimly as Tails swerved in midair, avoiding a sudden dive from Robotnik.

The Egg Drill whirled with surprising grace and swooped back towards them. Again Tails dodged.

They continued on like this for some time, until Sonic noticed Tails was starting to tire.

_This is nuts. We gotta do something._

"Tails?"

"Yup?"

"Next time Robotnik comes past, drop me onto his Egg Drill, okay? I got an idea." This last was nothing short of a complete lie, but Sonic supposed he'd think of something when the time came.

The Egg Drill dived for them again. Robotnik seemed to be able to rotate the drill bit through a hundred and eighty degree arc; it was now pointing directly downwards.

_So if I can get rid of the drill..._ Sonic thought as Tails nipped out the way and flung him towards it with startling accuracy.

In his seat, Robotnik jerked back, thrown. Out of all the possibilities he'd anticipated, the idea of being boarded hadn't even crossed his mind.

Sonic's fist slammed into the side of the doctor's head, the impact almost knocking him off the machine. Dazed, Robotnik fumbled for the button to put up a shield, but Sonic got there first. Slapping the doctor's hand out of the way, he started hitting buttons at random, hoping against hope that one of them would disengage the drill bit.

_This isn't going to work_. The realisation came to Sonic even as Robotnik recovered enough to seize him by the throat.

"I've waited a long time for this, Sonic." The doctor's hand squeezed hard, then relaxed slightly before increasing the pressure again.

"_Sonic_!" Tails zoomed forwards, but Robotnik held up an admonitory finger.

"Ah ah ah. You keep your distance, cub, or he'll just die faster."

Tails jammed small paws on hips, the action looking faintly ridiculous in midair. "You _can't_ kill Sonic!"

Robotnik smiled broadly. "Can't I? We'll try that."

Sonic choked. Instinct took over and he tried to spin, but the hold was too tight, and Robotnik's vulnerable areas were too well protected for him to strike there…

In a final, last ditch attempt, he seized the doctor's wrist. Robotnik grinned mockingly, thinking Sonic was about to try and prise his hand away. In fact, the hedgehog had no such intentions; the doctor had the advantage of both weight and leverage, and Sonic wasn't stupid enough to try and match his strength.

Instead, he used his hands to pull himself up and kick out hard, planting a foot squarely in Robotnik's face. The doctor's head snapped back, his grip loosening, and Sonic yanked free, stumbling away and luckily managing to catch himself on the drill bit before he slid off the Egg Drill completely.

Hanging onto it tightly (despite Robotnik's efforts to dislodge him by swinging the drill in different directions) Sonic revved up, using a metal strut to keep himself in place as he gathered momentum.

Ten seconds later, he let go, ploughing straight through the drill and out the other side where a now frantic Tails dived to catch him, pulling him up just above the spikes.

Half turning, Sonic saw that the Drill had just parted company from the Egg; it was now impaled some six feet away. Raising his head, he fixed Robotnik with a grin.

"Pretty close, doc, but not quite enough to pass."

Robotnik stared coldly at him, so coldly that even Sonic felt a stirring of unease in his belly as the depth of the doctor's enmity for him really hit home for the first time since the whole chaotic mess had begun.

Eventually Robotnik spoke, lip curled.

"We'll see about that, Sonic."

Turning, he revved up the thrusters and was out of earshot before either Sonic or Tails could reply.

When he was sure the doctor wasn't coming back, Sonic let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and shook his head. "He drills up through the ceiling to get away from us, then when push comes to shove all he does is swoop around and hope he gets lucky! What's up with _that_?"

Tails, who was now panting loudly, somehow managed to shrug. Sonic glanced up at him.

"C'mon lil bro, let's land somewhere."

The little fox shook his head determinedly. "Gotta...keep going..."

"No you don't. We chased off old Robotnik, kiddo, and it's getting dark. Let's get some rest."

Tails shook his head again. "Nuh uh! We can get him this time, Sonic!"

At least, that's what Sonic thought he said; the little fox was now gasping for breath so hard that his words were almost inaudible.

"We can get him _next_ time. C'mon, land down there." Sonic jerked his head towards a reasonably flat area.

Tails obeyed with a little more alacrity than Sonic had intended; the little fox dropped like a stone, dumping the hedgehog on the ground and then landing hard on top of him, rolling over and over until he came to a stop under a bush. As soon as he'd got his breath back, he poked his head out and said, "Okay, we landed, now let's take off again an' go whump ol' Robotnik!"

Sonic grinned. "How's about we get you that ride first, squirt?"

Tails' face lit up and he leapt to his feet. "_Yeah_!" Scampering over to Sonic, he paused in front of the hedgehog to yawn hugely before seizing his hand. "C'mon!"

Scooping the little fox up, Sonic secured him in his arms. "Ready, squirt?"

"You bet!"

"Okay." Sonic broke into a run, weaving between the pillars and plants. He had no intention of going after Robotnik – at least, not just yet – but he'd rapidly discovered that about the only thing to put Tails out for the count was a ride.

In fact, now that he thought about it, Mighty's parents had often done the same with him, taking him for a ride in the hovercar. Maybe that was where he'd got the idea.

_Yeah, well, Tails isn't the only one who's beat_, Sonic thought wryly. How long had it been since he'd slept himself? Twenty four hours? Longer?

It didn't take long for Tails' eyes to close, despite the little fox's best efforts to resist sleep. Sonic kept moving, waiting until he was sure Tails was asleep before trekking up the path to a building that still boasted part of a roof. It was getting dark. The two of them might as well sleep here as anywhere.

Placing Tails gently in a corner, Sonic settled next to him, back against the wall. Fatigue overtook him rapidly and he was asleep in under a minute.

**Okay, so my second favourite Zone is now done :D Sorry it took so long; the next chapter will be up sooner, promise :) In the meantime, if you read this, please review!**


	7. United We Stand

**the waffle: (blushes) Thanks :D**

**DragonRaiderX9: Um...no, I didn't leave out the mini-boss (all mini-bosses are/will be included in the Zones :P) It's just not the most noticeable since nothing really happens besides Sonic/Tails destroying it...no banter, nothing :)**

**Matt Lans: Thanks :D Yeah, I hated that fight; it's about the only part of the level I didn't like...**

**D.C.111: Yep, update :P And thanks, glad you liked it :D**

**Awdures: Heh, thanks, I try ;) 'Squishing' levels (shivers) It's weird; in 3D games they don't bother me at all, but for some reason I hate 2D squishing**

**Guardian Angel of Haven City: Thanks :P Me, I love Tails; he's fun to write whatever age (admittedly more at five than eight ;))**

**shadow-spawn180: Thanks :D Heh. I can't wait until I get to write Sandopolis; I've got some of it drafted out and I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with it...(rubs hands gleefully)**

**SonicRules12: Hmm...I think Robotnik was probably having a bad day ;) And thanks...yeah, I've often wondered about Sonic surviving such long falls :P**

**SonicTails123: Thanks :) Yeah, I think Sonic's gradually turning into the reckless, fun-loving hedgehog that we all love (or in the case of some people, love to hate ;))**

**Tucker's Mayflower: Yep, I'm back! And yes, it's been a while since Chapter 5...what can I say? It was tough to write :P As to the rest...(blushes) Thanks :D**

**Maverick87: Thanks...usually I don't give away endings, but in that case I was happy to make an exception ;)**

**Milette Tails Prower: Thanks :) Getting to write Sonic and Tails' 'normal' conversations is what I love most about adapting older games ;)**

**Ippiki Ookami no Kage: Hmm...I never got lost in Marble Garden, but Sandopolis...shivers Ooh boy; I could never get anywhere on that level ::) And thanks; glad you liked it :D**

**Forgotten Muse: Oh yeah. Sonic's in for one big shock when they hit Sandopolis ;)**

**Taranea: Tails...no, he's not really losing the 'little kid' speech, but it's been six months since _Rising Star_...I think he's grown up slightly (although not much :P) As far as Sonic's personality goes, I think he was always a wise-cracking, thrill-seeking guy; he just had so much going down that it got buried. Tails just helped him dig it up :P That kind of ties into your other question as well; no, Sonic's more cautious personality in other fics isn't a 'step back'; it stems from having to deal with everything he went through. Like this fic, Sonic is getting back to his old self ;)**

**Nickkp9: Heh, well, I love Marble Garden Zone, at any rate ;) As far as Tails spin-dashing goes...at the moment it's not on the cards (Yes, I know it happens in the game, but it just doesn't ring true for me in this adaptation)**

Knuckles clambered up a large tree and straddled a thick branch, frowning at nothing.

What was he going to do about that hedgehog? More importantly, what was he going to do about Robotnik? The human was helpful enough, but Knuckles was still concerned that he wasn't going to leave peacefully once Sonic and his little tagalong had been stopped.

The echidna lay down carefully, chin pillowed on his arms as he thought hard. He'd actually come within six feet of Sonic and Tails not long ago, and hadn't attacked for the simple reason that they'd both been asleep.

He was having his doubts about the whole coercion story; the fox cub had reached over in his sleep to snuggle up to Sonic, winding both small arms around the hedgehog's waist, and Sonic had returned the hug. Hardly the behaviour of a kid who hated his situation.

A humming sound announced Robotnik's arrival. Knuckles glanced up, caught sight of the doctor and almost fell off his branch.

"What happened to _you_?"

"Sonic," Robotnik said, somewhat indistinctly. Sonic's punch had broken his nose and it had taken a considerable amount of time before he'd managed to patch himself up again. "I'll get him next time."

"That's pretty much what you said last time," Knuckles retorted. He shook his head, pulling himself to his feet and resting one hand on a higher branch for balance. "I'm getting a little tired of waiting for you to come good, human."

"Well, if you'd pull your weight once in a while..." Robotnik muttered, not quite under his breath.

He regretted it instantly as the echidna leapt off the branch onto the Egg-O-Matic and slammed a fist into his stomach. Knuckles had kept his deadly namesakes out, but it still winded the human.

It didn't do a great deal more, however, since punching a gut like Robotnik's was roughly like slamming one's fist into a beanbag.

"I'm not your damn lackey!" Knuckles all but snarled at him.

"I never said you were," Robotnik pointed out as calmly as he could. "But I need your help, Knuckles. I can't do this on my own."

The echidna curled his lip. "Obviously."

"If you'd been in Marble Garden, maybe we could have stopped Sonic together. As it is, he's escaped unharmed."

"Yes." Knuckles' cool gaze raked Robotnik's vehicle from top to bottom. "Of course, you didn't exactly bring out any particularly powerful weapon, did you?"

The doctor's respectful facade slipped a notch or two. "If you hadn't smashed my Egg Catcher—"

"Your what?" Knuckles said sharply.

"That machine of mine. If you hadn't smashed it—"

"_Your_ machine?"

"Yes, my machine! Who else has machinery like this on Angel Island?"

Knuckles raised an eye ridge. "According to you, at least one blue hedgehog. You told me Sonic was the one who named his devices after eggs. Or was that a lie as well?"

"No it damn well wasn't!" Robotnik took one or two deep breaths and then, as soon as he felt he had himself under control, went on. "Forgive my...outburst, Guardian, but that machine could have finished Sonic once and for all."

No hint of shame or remorse showed in Knuckles' face as he answered, "And I could have finished that cub once and for all if I'd listened to you. Did you think I would let that pass?"

"I explained about that, just as I explained that Sonic named his devices after eggs. But I never said he was the only one." Robotnik shrugged. "You seemed so contemptuous of the notion that I didn't want to risk jeopardising your good opinion of me."

Knuckles folded his arms coldly. "When I form a good opinion of you, creature, I'll let you know." Spinning, only slipping slightly on the metal, he jumped neatly back onto a larger branch and started walking along it with the easy grace of a cat, Robotnik gliding alongside.

"So what are you going to do about protecting the Master Emerald?" he asked eventually.

The echidna's eyes flashed dangerously. "That's my business!"

"Of course. I was just asking because if I knew what kind of security measures you had in place, I might be able to suggest how best to adapt them to stopping Sonic."

Knuckles paused and turned to stare at the human, arms folded. "And also because if you knew what kind of security measures I had in place, _you_ could then come up with some way around them for yourself!"

"That hurts, Knuckles," Robotnik said plaintively, although privately furious at having been so easily read. "When have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"

The echidna unfolded his arms and made a show of ticking items off on his fingers as best he could through his gloves.

"When you first showed up, when you lied to me about that fox cub and when you tried to trick me into _killing_ that fox cub by lying."

"Lying is such a harsh word—" Robotnik began, but Knuckles' curled lip cut him off.

"You didn't tell me he was alive and not a robot. You didn't tell me that your own machinery apparently matches Sonic's in terms of power and weapons. Anything else you're not telling me, Robotnik?"

"Plenty," Robotnik answered truthfully, "but then I imagine there's a lot you're not telling _me_." He shrugged. "I have my position to think of, much like your good self. I think now's as good a time as any to confirm that neither of us trusts the other." The doctor paused. "Speaking of trust, did you bring the ceiling down to crush me in Marble Garden?"

The echidna tugged a bunch of grapes off a vine and ate three before answering, "Of course not. That particular defence simply raises the floor, that's all."

Robotnik grimaced. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to give me a little warning next time?"

Knuckles arched an eye ridge. "Let me explain something to you. At the moment it seems that blue hedgehog and the fox kid are heading towards the Master Emerald. In terms of dealing with threats, they have priority over you. That doesn't mean I want _you_ hanging around here. We get rid of those two, then you get back to the surface and never return."

Robotnik spread his hands to the side. "Well, I can't make you believe me—"

"Damn straight."

"—but if it makes you feel better, then yes. Once I'm finished here, then I swear I'll leave and never return—" _for my own safety,_ he added with wry humour in the privacy of his own mind.

Knuckles searched his face and apparently couldn't find any sign of lying; he nodded once, curtly.

"Alright. Now how am I supposed to stop that hedgehog?" He was talking to himself, but Robotnik took the question as addressed to him.

"I'll deal with Sonic."

"Oh, like you did the last three times?" Knuckles sniped. "Forget it, outsider. From what you've said, he's given you every chance for over a year. I don't plan to rely on you now. _I'll_ take care of the hedgehog. You just stay here and play with your little toys."

Robotnik regarded Knuckles levelly. Behind the dark glasses, his eyes glinted with the hard promise that someone was going to regret _little toys_.

"I'm sure you won't mind if I decide to lie in wait for the hedgehog anyway," he said, no hint of his feelings showing in his voice. "What's the next Zone?"

"If they keep heading the way they are, they'll be in Carnival Night Zone by nightfall."

Robotnik pricked up his ears. "Carnival Night?"

"Yeah. When I was six I had a theme park built to try and divert any visitors from the Master Emerald. Talk about a waste of money."

"Do the machines still work?"

Taken aback by the question, Knuckles blinked. "As far as I know. Why?"

"Oh...just curious," Robotnik said airily. "Sonic's something of a thrill-seeker. He may well get side-tracked on some of the rides."

"There aren't any rides," Knuckles answered. "A few bumpers, balloons, half a dozen cannons...oh yeah, and that claw machine."

"Claw machine?"

"Yeah. I thought it'd be pretty good; people go down and other people have to fish 'em out. At the very least, it'd distract 'em."

"Quite so." Robotnik pulled on his mustache idly. "And...this claw machine is still there? Still working?"

"Well...yeah," Knuckles said. He shifted his feet slightly; he was suddenly struck by the uncomfortable thought that he had said too much. "What about Sonic?"

Robotnik shrugged. "What about him?" An idea hit him and he smiled suddenly. "I do have a couple of thoughts on getting rid of him, if you're interested."

The echidna eyed him coldly. The doctor might seem pretty damn useless when it came to stopping Sonic, but in all fairness, Knuckles wasn't doing much better.

"Go on then."

"Excellent." Robotnik drew to a halt and turned his Egg-O-Matic around to face Knuckles. "I've been studying the plans for that Zone quite extensively, and it mentions something about swimming pools...?" He let the sentence trail off.

"Yeah, but they're empty. I drained the water to try and deal with the fire Sonic started." Even now, the memory of that was still enough to make the echidna's fists itch.

"Oh, absolutely," Robotnik agreed, so politely Knuckles wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not. "Certainly your island's well-being takes priority over all of this. But...suppose those pools were to be refilled? You can divert any excess water from Hydrocity, correct?"

Knuckles' eyes narrowed. He could, although he didn't much like the fact that Robotnik was aware of it.

"I'll see to it," he said abruptly.

"Excellent." If Robotnik had noticed any of the thoughts going through Knuckles' head, he didn't let on. "Then I'll go and prepare my own defences in that Zone."

**So next up it's Carnival Night Zone ;) Hope you enjoyed this part and if you read, please review!**


	8. Carnival Night Zone

**Awdures: Thanks :)**

**Ippiki Ookami no Kage: Yeah, it is too bad. Poor Knux :P**

**D.C.111: Very true ;)**

**Guardian Angel of Haven City: Heh. I almost did have him fall off the Egg-O-Matic, then decided against it; poor Knux gets enough humiliation in this story as it is :P**

**shadow-spawn180: Thanks, glad you liked it :D**

**Forgotten Muse: Yeah, I found Carnival Night Zone hard as well, at least until I learned how to work those damn up-and-down cylinder blocks :P**

**Matt Lans: Yep, the bosses in Carnival Night Zone were...interesting, to say the least ;)**

**Randommaster: Thanks :)**

**Feniiku: Thanks :D Lava Reef...yep, should be interesting to say the least ;)**

**Gameorama91: Nice to know you're still there, and still enjoying it :P**

**SonicTails123: One Carnival Night Zone, as requested ;)**

**CalliopeMused: (blushes) Thanks :D I'm glad you're enjoying it**

**Nickkp9: Heh...no, the claw machine isn't the boss in this game; Robotnik's just laying his plans for events in _Knuckles Chaotix, _that's all ;)**

**Gadget14: Thanks :) Updates...for some reason this chapter was tough to write. Oh well...next up is Ice Cap :P**

**Joeboo: Thanks, I try :D**

"What the _hell_," Sonic said, staring around, "is _this_ place?"

"Real real cool?" Tails suggested helpfully.

The hedgehog barely registered the little fox's words, his brain too busy trying to process the sight around him.

It was a city. Or to put it more accurately, it was a _hologram_ of a city, and not a particularly good one; it had clearly been designed by someone who had heard a description of a city at night, but never actually seen one for his or herself. Vague black rectangles surrounded them, punctuated by smaller yellow slits. A few 'buildings' had red lights emanating from them, and there was the odd building that looked like it could be real, but by and large it was a very poor job.

Still, just seeing it made Sonic's heart lift. Someone had to have built the place they were standing in, and set up and programmed that hologram...yes, there had to be people around!

"Sonic?" Tails piped up.

"Yeah, squirt?"

"If they got games here, c'n I play? 'Cause I wanna win some more rings like I did in Casino Night Zone, 'member?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, sure I remember."

"On'y I wanna play on a _nice_ machine 'cause the one back in Casino Night Zone took all my rings away again!" Tails scowled at the memory, then abruptly sat down on the ground, kicking small feet over the edge. "I think the on'y people who winned _anything_ in that Casino Zone are the guys who own it!"

The hedgehog laughed. "Nice going, lil bro. There's people come from all over Mobius to spend money in that place who haven't figured that one out yet."

Tails frowned. "What?"

"Never mind. What do you say we go explore this place?"

The little fox's face lit up. "Yeah! And play games, right Sonic?"

"You betcha."

Tails yipped in excitement and grabbed Sonic by the hand, tugging him along the platform for all of six feet before he stopped so abruptly the hedgehog almost crashed into him.

"Sonic! Sonic, look!" Tails pointed with the hand currently holding Sonic's, inadvertently pulling the hedgehog forward. "There's a balloon!"

Dropping Sonic's hand, he scampered forward and jumped into the air, flying up to the balloon and attempting to hug it to him. He failed, mostly because it was bigger than Sonic was, but that didn't deter him from flying higher to perch on top, a huge grin on his face.

"Hey Sonic!"

Sonic waved up at him. "Hi lil bro! How's the view from up there?"

"Real cool!" Tails looked around, almost sliding off his seat a number of times, then somehow managed to lie flat on his stomach and peer over the edge at Sonic. "Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"C'n I keep it?"

"The balloon?" Sonic grinned. "Sure, why not?"

Tails beamed down at him, namesakes wagging vigorously, then he beckoned Sonic with a grandiose gesture that very nearly dislodged him.

"You gotta come up here, Sonic! It's so cool!"

_Cool_ seemed to be the little fox's word for the week, Sonic reflected with a grin as he jumped for the balloon without really thinking about what he was doing. Like most hedgehogs, when he jumped, he usually curled up into a ball, quills sticking out in all directions.

One of those quills punctured the balloon he landed on, and the resultant _bang_ was almost like a mini-explosion, propelling the stunned hedgehog into the air and onto the next balloon, and from there to the next and the next. Sonic hit the ground again after the fourth time, but only because he'd just run out of balloons.

A very forlorn looking Tails padded up to the hedgehog and sat down next to him, kicking his legs over the side and playing with his thumbs.

"You okay, lil buddy?"

The little fox fixed him with a morose look. "How come you banged the balloons, huh Sonic?" he asked in a very small voice. "How come?"

"I didn't mean to, squirt." Sonic rubbed his quills tenderly; he was sure that at least one of those bangs had singed his fur. "Just...hedgehogs and balloons don't really mix."

"But you didn't have to _bang_ them." Tails nudged a scrap of rubber along with his toe, then picked it up and looked at it, ears drooping. "They were real _cool_ balloons, Sonic, an'...an' I was gonna give you one of them. I was gonna give you the blue one 'cause you're blue an' now I can't 'cause you banged it."

"I'm sorry, kiddo." Sonic ruffled the little fox's fur. "But look on the bright side; there's gotta be more balloons."

Tails eyed him warily. "You're jus' saying that to stop me being sad, Sonic."

The hedgehog grinned. "Put it this way, lil bro; if you built a place like this, would you only put four balloons into it?"

The little fox snorted. "_Course_ not, Sonic! I'd put billions an' billions in!"

"Exactly, so there's gonna be more."

Tails sniffled. "But that one was gonna be my favourite, Sonic."

"C'mon, lil bro—"

"No!" Tails pushed at Sonic. "I'm in a bad mood, Sonic, so you jus' better not _think_ of tickling me or doing anything else! You c'n jus' go an' whump ol' Robotnik by yourself 'cause I'm not gonna play anymore!" He swung his legs up and crossed them, turning his back on Sonic and sticking his little snout so high in the air he was almost looking at the hedgehog upside-down.

"You're in a bad mood, huh?" Sonic grinned broadly. "Well, if you're gonna be in a bad mood, I guess I am too."

Mimicking Tails' posture and expression, Sonic scowled at the ceiling. For a Zone that had gone for broke on the pretty lights and decorations, this place seemed to have run out of ideas for the part above; it was plain grey metal.

Tails craned his neck back further. "You can't be in a bad mood, Sonic, 'cause _I'm_ in a bad mood!"

"I can be in a bad mood if I want," Sonic said as huffily as he could manage.

Turning around, Tails pushed his arm. "No you can't, 'cause if you're in a bad mood you can't go an' whump ol' Robotnik."

"Don't talk to me, Tails. I told you I'm in a bad mood."

Tails giggled, but the sound had a note of uncertainty in it. "No you're not."

"Yes I am." Sonic pouted at the ceiling. "And I'm not gonna whump old Robotnik either."

Now looking positively thunderstruck, Tails padded round in front of Sonic. "But…but you _gotta_ whump ol' Robotnik, 'cause nobody else c'n do it!"

"I don't care." Sonic shifted around, Tails padding after him anxiously, then grabbed the little fox as soon as he came within arm's reach. "Gotcha!"

Tails yipped loudly, already wriggling in Sonic's hold. "Sonic! No fair!"

"All's fair in love and war, squirt."

Squirming, the little fox seized the hedgehog's wrist in both his hands and squeezed hard, pulling it close.

"Well, you can't tickle me _now_, Sonic, 'cause I got your hand! See?"

"Yeah, I see, squirt." Sonic looked around, then lowered his voice. "But I think you forgot something, Tails, something very, very important."

"I did?" Tails scrunched up his little snout. "What?"

Sonic lowered his voice further. "I've got _two_ hands."

Understanding dawned. "Oh yeah!" Then Tails caught the gleam in Sonic's eyes and giggled, all thoughts of balloons forgotten. "Uh oh!"

"Uh oh is right." Dropping to one knee, Sonic shot out an arm and wrapped it around Tails' waist, pulling the little fox down onto his lap to tickle him hard. The tickling became roughhousing, and the pair rolled over and over down the slope to the bottom, Tails shrieking with laughter.

"_Wow_." Looking back the way they'd come, Tails' ears lifted and perked forward. "Is that a _real_ candy cane, Sonic?"

"Huh? Is what...?" Catching sight of the object which had commanded the little fox's attention – namely a huge red and white striped pole that the pair of them had slid down while playing – Sonic grinned. "Nah. I don't think so."

Tails squinted at it for a few minutes. "Mebbe one of us should lick it an' make sure, huh Sonic?"

"No go, lil bro. It's dirty and you could get sick. C'mon, let's keep moving, okay?"

"'Kay." Tails padded along obediently for a few seconds before suddenly announcing, "Hey Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"I gotta go to the bathroom."

"You do?" Sonic looked around. "Can't you hold it?"

Tails shook his head. "Nuh uh! You keep going, Sonic, an' I'll catch up!"

Sonic hesitated, then shrugged. It was probably safe enough. How much trouble could Tails get into going to the bathroom?

Continuing on his way, slowly enough so that he wouldn't get out of sight, Sonic jogged along, following the path up a gentle incline.

Catching sight of a bright blue creation that looked a little like an oyster with a weight problem at the top of the slope, Sonic slowed to a halt, uncertain. As he watched, the bot cracked open to reveal a pair of huge eyes in a way that might have been considered cute under any other circumstances.

A sound best described as _pof_ came from inside and a spiked ball flew towards Sonic, who jumped over it just in time, landing on the other side of the bot. To his relief, he saw that it was still in the same position, which either meant it couldn't move or that it couldn't sense him.

Tails zoomed down to join him, tongue hanging out for some reason Sonic was unable to identify.

"What's that blue thing, Sonic?"

Sonic shrugged. "Some bot, I guess. It looked kinda like a clam."

"What's a clam?" Tails wanted to know.

"Some kinda shellfish or other." Sonic glanced down at the little fox, remembering why Tails had gone off. "You okay now?"

The little fox blinked. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be?" He pulled a disgusted face, attempting to scrub his mouth out with grubby fingers. "You were right, Sonic; that giant candy cane isn't really a giant candy cane. It jus' looks like one."

In spite of himself, Sonic grinned broadly. "I did try to warn you, lil bro."

"No, you jus' said—_wow_! Lookit Sonic, there's a great big cannon over there!"

Sonic pasted a puzzled expression on his face and scratched his head. "When did I say that, squirt?"

"_No_, Sonic! Look!" Tails grabbed Sonic's hand and tugged him over to the cannon in question. "See?"

Sonic grinned. "Yeah, I see." Twisting his neck, he craned his head up, searching for the likely target of such a cannon and found nothing except a platform high above his head.

An idea struck him and his grin broadened. Well, why not?

"Stay here, squirt," he told Tails and started towards the cannon.

"_Yeah_!" Ignoring Sonic's instructions, Tails scampered ahead eagerly and Sonic barely managed to catch the little fox before Tails clambered into the cannon.

"Tails, stay outta there!"

"But _you're _gonna jump in an' shoot yourself out!" Tails protested, now scowling at him. "How come you get all the fun, Sonic?"

"Getting blasted into the wall isn't exactly my idea of fun, squirt," Sonic informed him.

"But how'm I s'posed to be a Super Cool Mega Whumping Fox Cannonball Thingy of Doom if you won't lemme shoot myself out of a cannon?" Tails protested in tones which informed Sonic how dumb the little fox considered him for not understanding this.

"A super cool…" Sonic shook his head, grinning wryly. "Tails…"

"I gotta be one, Sonic." Now Tails was at his most reasonable. "I jus' gotta, 'cause you're the Big Blue Flying Buzzsaw Thingy Of Death an' so _I_ gotta be something too."

Sonic opened his mouth, played the likely outcome of the conversation through in his mind and shut it again.

"We'll talk about that later," he said evasively. "Right now, you can fly up there and I can't, so I get to jump in the cannon."

This was harder than it sounded, as the fixings on the cannon seemed to be a little loose and it swung crazily from one side to the other so fast Sonic found it almost impossible to control. It cost him several attempts, almost as many bruises and very nearly a concussion before he managed to aim and time the cannon fire to a) launch him at the platform and b) miss the rotating bumpers at the top of the platform that kept ricocheting him back where he'd come from.

Tails, who had lost interest in shooting himself out of the cannon the first time Sonic had crashed into the wall and who had flown up under his own steam, zipped down to join him.

"C'mon Sonic! I gotta show you something!"

Sonic blinked. "What?"

"Look!" Tails dragged the hedgehog along the platform and pointed. "What're them?"

Sonic frowned as he followed the little fox's pointing finger. "I dunno."

"Can they hurt us?"

"I dunno," Sonic said again. Carefully, he approached the object. Its appearance was enough to give anyone pause – it resembled nothing so much as a platform of glowing embers – yet it didn't feel hot.

Reaching down, he encountered a force field some six inches above the uppermost 'ember' and sat back on his heels, his frown deepening.

"I think it's some kinda path. Like the fans back in Oil Ocean Zone, you remember them?"

"I 'member you falling in the oil, Sonic." Tails giggled at the memory. "Boy, you sure looked funny!"

"So did you!"

"Did not!"

Sonic grinned. "Did so."

"Not!"

"So!"

"Not!"

"So!"

This exchange continued across the force field path and several yards down the corridor, only coming to an end when the pair discovered that their way ahead was barred by several blocks that had been fastened to each other and stretched from floor to ceiling. In keeping with the carnival theme, they were coloured an eye-smarting red and yellow.

"We gonna go through there, Sonic?" Tails asked eagerly.

The hedgehog grinned broadly. "You better believe it, lil bro. Stand back."

Tails obeyed, eyes huge with excitement as Sonic started to spin over and over on the spot before exploding forward in a burst of movement that shattered the blocks beyond repair.

There was a screech of brakes and Sonic skidded to a stop on the rim of a dark hole. He didn't know what was down there and he didn't much like the thought of finding out either.

Unfortunately, he'd reckoned without Tails. Seeing his hero blast down the corridor, Tails had scampered after him and had been somewhat unprepared for Sonic's abrupt halt. The hedgehog had just enough time to register the sound of rapid footsteps and start to turn before Tails crashed into him and the pair of them tumbled into the hole.

Much to Sonic's surprise, it wasn't a sheer vertical drop. Instead, it seemed to be more of a gradual decline, although the constant spiralling was enough to unnerve him.

_What the hell is this?_

With some difficulty, he managed to get to his feet and start running. If he was going straight into a trap, he wanted to do so on his feet, not his backside.

Light appeared suddenly and Sonic and Tails exploded out of the other end, now both on their feet. Their momentum kept them going up a vertical wall, into a cleverly concealed room and straight through the giant ring that was spinning there. It wasn't until they'd grabbed the blue Chaos Emerald and warped out again that Sonic managed to relax and get his breath back.

"We got it, Sonic!" Tails was bouncing on the spot, beaming happily. "I'm gonna guard _this_ one!"

Reaching into his namesakes, he pulled out the green Emerald and swapped it for the blue one before Sonic had a chance to protest. "Where now, huh Sonic?"

Sonic frowned slightly. "Maybe that way?" He pointed to a tunnel, one just large enough for him to squeeze through. It didn't look particularly inviting, but there was nowhere else to go; the ground was too far down for Tails to fly him.

Then again, the ground on this side isn't too good either, Sonic thought grimly as he stuck his head out of the tunnel and saw the blocks – green and yellow this time – fifty feet below. Not much of a jump in Mobian terms, but still... 

Well, there was nothing else for it; he couldn't very well go back and so he pushed himself out and turned a neat somersault, landing on his feet.

A few seconds later he regretted his impetuousity as the ground shuddered underneath him and then started to descend.

"_Cool_!" Tails flew down to join him. "It's jus' like a real big elevator, huh Sonic?"

A whirring sound drew Sonic's attention upwards and he tensed.

"Real big elevators don't come with robots like that one, squirt."

In fact, Sonic wasn't sure what _did_ come with robots like the one currently swooping towards them. It put him in mind of a round-ended screw, with a green band of machinery around the top. Edging away – there was no telling what a new bot was likely to do – Sonic watched as it fired two spiked and rotating platforms from underneath. Both platforms descended towards the blocks, drilling through them and leaving a gap some ten feet wide.

"_Sonic_!"

Turning, Sonic saw that a third platform was heading for Tails; whether by accident or design he didn't know and didn't much care either. Leaping forward, he slammed into Tails and knocked him clear across into the far wall.

"Stay here!"

Racing back, he leapt for one of the other platforms and barely avoided getting clipped on the ankle. Hanging on tightly, he waited until he was close enough to the machine – this was just like his battle with Robotnik on the doctor's Wing Fortress – and then leapt, burrowing through the top of the bot.

The resultant explosion blasted him through the air and sent him skidding across the remaining blocks towards the gap. Sonic scrabbled frantically for a hold, but the ground was too slick under his fingers. He was going to fall, and at this height it wasn't a fall he could survive, even with the Mobian atmosphere.

Twisting around, Sonic managed to grab onto the edge of the gap. There was a sickening crack and pain lanced through his arm, which suddenly stopped responding, but it had bought him enough time to catch onto the edge with the fingers on his other hand.

The robot moved towards him in a somewhat erratic manner, stopping and starting, and Sonic realised it was on the verge of destruction.

_At least it's not firing any more of those platforms_, Sonic thought, although the likelihood that the robot was now going to explode and rain molten metal and electricity down on his head wasn't much of an improvement.

"Sonic!" Tails raced forward and performed a skid that Sonic himself would have been proud of, then seized the hedgehog's hand and dragged him up, throwing all his strength behind it.

He managed to pull Sonic up to safety just as the machine's engine cut out and sent it crashing down, taking out half the remaining blocks with it.

Some minutes later, the blocks Sonic and Tails were riding hit ground level with a judder, almost shaking them off.

"Sonic?" Tails wandered around the hedgehog, scrutinising him curiously. "Sonic, what happened to your arm?" He nudged it inquisitively, provoking a loud "_OW!_" from the hedgehog. Eyes wide, Tails backed off. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, honest!"

Sonic managed to wave his other hand reassuringly. "It's okay, squirt. It's okay." He paused, deep in thought. He knew his shoulder was dislocated; he'd actually _felt_ the bone pop out. The question was, how the _hell_ was he going to pop it back in again?

As far as he could see, there was only one way, and it wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Tails, you gotta hold my arm. Not that one," Sonic added, "the other one."

The little fox backed away, shaking his head vigorously. "Nuh _uh_! I'm not gonna touch your arm 'cause that hurts you, Sonic, an' I don't wanna hurt you 'cause then you'll get mad an' you won't want me to be your little brother any more!"

Sonic took a step towards Tails, then regretted it instantly as the movement sent fresh agony down his arm.

"Squirt, you gotta trust me on this." Carefully, Sonic sat down and barely managed to suppress a yelp as his trailing hand brushed the ground. "I won't get mad at you, and I'll still want you to be my little brother, but I need your help. You gotta hold my arm, squeeze it as tight as you can so I can't move it."

Tails stared at him, baffled and if his facial expressions were anything to go by, more than a little scared.

"B-but _why_? How come you want me to hurt you, Sonic? How come?" Padding over to the hedgehog, he clambered into Sonic's lap and wound both arms around his waist, peering up into his idol's face. "I don't wanna hurt you, Sonic."

"I know you don't, squirt, and I appreciate that." Sonic gritted his teeth as a fresh wave of pain shot down his arm. Tails' head was rapidly sliding in and out of focus. "Just...please do it. For me."

Tails flattened his ears worriedly. "If I do, will you be okay again?"

"Yeah." _I hope,_ Sonic added mentally. He knew what he was planning was theoretically possible – he'd seen it done – but that didn't mean he was looking forward to it. "But you gotta do it now, Tails, and whatever happens, don't let go until I say."

Ears still flat, body language practically screaming his apprehension, Tails got to his feet and padded around to Sonic's arm.

"Yeah, that's it." Sonic tried an encouraging smile, one which came out more as a pain-filled grimace. "Just grab my arm as hard as you can, squirt, and I'll take care of the rest."

Tails reached out and Sonic steeled himself. This was not going to be pleasant.

Grabbing the hedgehog's arm, Tails wrapped both his own arms around it and hugged it to his chest so tightly Sonic's fingers started to tingle. The pain was excruciating and Sonic fought to keep it to himself, fought to keep any trace of it from showing on his face.

Throwing his weight against it, he moved around in an effort to try and slot the joint back into place.

"Sonic?" Tails' anxious voice rang tinnily in the hedgehog's ears. "Sonic, I don't like this. I wanna let go—"

"_No_!" Pain made Sonic's voice harsher than he intended; if he didn't do this soon, he'd pass out and he didn't think he could bring himself to go through it a second time. "You let go now, Tails, and I'll never hang out with you again!"

Tails' ears flattened further and he whined softly. He couldn't remember Sonic _ever_ snarling at him like that before, not _never_.

Sonic changed position and twisted hard. There was a sudden sharp noise like someone putting their foot through a rotten log and another wave of hot agony pierced his arm, one that made the previous pain seem like nothing more than an itch.

Greying out, Sonic crashed down onto his side and lay there, shaking all over. It was some moments before he came back to himself, and even longer before he could sit up again. Much to his relief, his idea had worked; the dislocated shoulder had popped back into place. Moving it was painful – the muscles had been badly torn – but possible.

"S-Sonic?" Tails, who had fortunately let go of Sonic the instant he heard the crunch, padded forward to look at the hedgehog, eyes brimming and namesakes ducked firmly between his legs. "Sonic, I don't wanna do that again. I'm real sorry I let go, Sonic, an'...an' I guess you don't wanna hang out with me 'cause you said you wouldn't but..." Tails' chest hitched once or twice but he continued bravely. "I'm real sorry, Sonic. I _wanted_ to do good, honest."

Sonic held one arm out to the side. "C'mere squirt."

Tails hesitated, not entirely sure if Sonic meant it, then inched over and snuggled into the hedgehog's arm, burying his face in Sonic's ribs hard enough to bruise.

"Tails, you did _great_." Sonic rubbed the little fox's back soothingly. "I didn't really mean that about not hanging out with you; I just...it hurt too much and I wasn't thinking straight."

Tails hiccupped loudly. "But you said—"

"Never mind what I said, lil bro. You helped me out big time; I'm not gonna dump you after that."

For long moments the two of them just sat there together, neither wanting to break the silence. Finally Sonic ran his good hand over his head, shivering.

"Man, I'm never gonna play _Breakout_ again!"

Tails looked up from where he was resting his head on Sonic's chest.

"What's _Breakout_?"

"A console game. I always thought it was kinda cool blowing up the guy that wanders across the bricks now and then. Now though..." The hedgehog shivered again. "Forget it! I don't think I've ever been so glad that I'm fast!"

Tails folded his arms. "Yeah, but I'm _way_ faster'n _you_, Sonic, 'member?"

Sonic grinned broadly. They'd had this conversation countless times before, and it always wound up the same.

"Oh _really_?"

"Yeah, really! An' I'll prove it too!" Tails broke into a run, using his namesakes to speed himself up. Sonic shook his head, still grinning, then took off after him.

Going down a steep slope, Sonic registered the presence of water splashing up around his ankles, but his own speed had carried him far beyond it before he could react.

The sight of a large switch up ahead slowed both Sonic and Tails down, although not as much as the sight of the red creature standing next to it. Snatching Tails up – the little fox seemed determined to charge their antagonist with small fists whirring almost as fast as his tails – Sonic skidded to a stop, a skid that took some six feet to complete.

"So much for Robotnik's stopping you." The other curled his lip. "Well, you know what they say. If you want a job done right, do it yourself."

Sonic placed Tails on the ground and held up both hands, backing away slowly in the somewhat vain hope that this stranger wouldn't jump on the switch if he didn't feel threatened. "Can I _please_ talk to one of the other residents?"

"No."

"How come not?" Tails demanded. Stomping forward, small face screwed up in what he fondly imagined to be a terrifying scowl and instead made him look like he'd just bitten into a lemon, he folded his arms in his best imitation of Sonic. "You better not bang any balloons either mister, 'cause Sonic _promised_ I could have one!"

"Really?" The creature shot Sonic an unfriendly look. "So first you destroy my island and now you've come to plunder it."

Sonic crossed his arms, foot tapping. "You know, I'm not sure one little balloon counts as _plundering._"

Tails shot him a look. "But I don't wanna little balloon, Sonic, I wanna _big_ one!"

Sonic grimaced and made a mental note to gag Tails next time this happened.

_Just when I was getting somewhere with this weirdo..._

"Tails..." he said wearily.

"What?" The little fox's expression became injured. "I do." Returning his gaze to the stranger, he added, "What's that switch do, mister?"

_Definitely_ _going to gag him_, Sonic thought bitterly.

"This." The stranger stepped on it hard. There was a brief flicker, and then the room was plunged into darkness.

Tails yelped, more in surprise than fear.

"You can't _do_ that!" he shouted, staring wildly around in the darkness. There was a whirring sound as he took off, followed by a crash as he missed the stranger by a good three feet.

"My island, kid. My rules." The stranger's voice had moved to the right and Sonic realised he was taking advantage of the sudden darkness. "You could find the way out in the dark, I guess, but only if you were a good swimmer." He paused for a fraction of an instant and then added, "Oh, that's right. You're not, are you, hedgehog? Too bad."

"You can't drown Sonic!" Tails yelled. His voice had an odd echoing quality to it; his attack on the stranger had left him firmly wedged in a ventilation duct. Kicking furiously in an attempt to free himself, he added, "An' you jus' better not try an' whump me now I'm stuck 'cause that's not _fair_!"

"Like I need to." The scorn in the stranger's voice acted as an incentive to Tails to free himself; the little fox braced both feet on the wall and pushed as hard as he could, eventually coming loose just in time to crash into Sonic, who had lunged for the stranger.

Turning, the creature headed back the way he'd come, diving down an opening into the water and swimming strongly away.

As Tails clambered off him, Sonic tuned out the little fox's indignant demands _re_ why Sonic had knocked Tails over _just_ when Tails was gonna go whump the stranger, and closed his eyes with a groan. Bad enough that the only way out was going to be through water, but in the _dark_? Uh uh.

Would hitting the switch turn the lights on again? Sonic doubted it but it was worth a try.

He pushed it. Nope. Nothing.

"We gotta follow him, Sonic," Tails piped up.

"No we don't, squirt, because he went into the water."

"Yeah, an' we're gonna go into the water after him!"

"No we are _not_!"

Tails folded his arms. "Are too! Else ol' Robotnik's gonna kill an' roboticise _ev'ryone_ on the island!"

Sonic glanced from Tails to the water and then back to Tails again. "I'm starting to think there's nobody here for him to roboticise at all, lil bro."

Tails frowned perplexedly. "Nuh uh, Sonic, there's gotta be, else why would he come here?"

_Why indeed_? The thought had been rebounding in Sonic's skull for a while now; what did this island have that Robotnik couldn't find down on Mobius?

The Death Egg? That was certainly a possibility – it would explain why it apparently never came down after being destroyed – but something about it didn't ring true. Sonic trusted his instincts, and right now they were telling him that although Robotnik wouldn't object to recovering the Death Egg, he wouldn't leave that stranger alive, much less try and turn him against Sonic. It wasn't even a case of pitting the two of them against each other while he snuck in and finished repairs; Robotnik seemed as eager to fight Sonic as before.

"So _what,_" Sonic said slowly, more thinking aloud than anything, "does he want?"

"On'y one way we're gonna find out, huh Sonic?"

Before the hedgehog had a chance to react, Tails had scampered past and cannonballed into the water, soaking him from head to foot.

"_Tails, dammit_!" Sonic raced after the little fox, intending to stop on the edge of the water. Unfortunately, his foot came down on one of the numerous puddles left behind by the little fox's cannonball and he skidded forward, fighting for his balance until he ran out of floor and half slithered, half fell into the water. He barely had enough time to suck in a lungful of air before sinking straight to the bottom.

It was worse than he'd expected, even though his eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough for him to make out basic shapes. There was no way he could get back up; he'd just have to keep going and hope against hope he could find some air bubbles or a way out soon.

Shivering in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature of the water (which was warmer than he'd expected) Sonic ploughed on. He couldn't see Tails and could only hope that the little fox had managed to swim on ahead.

Sonic slowed to a halt, lungs already starting to burn. A large, vaguely cylindrical shape was moving up and down in front of him, blocking his path. Sonic couldn't make much out in the way of colours or shapes; all he could tell was that it was big and heavy enough to crush him if he got caught underneath it.

_Great. Not only am I gonna drown but one wrong step and I get turned into a hedgehog pancake. _Sonic tensed, waiting. The water had restricted the cylinder's movements, slowing them to a crawl, but since it also had the same effect on the hedgehog, Sonic wasn't particularly reassured.

Well, he couldn't stand there forever; he was already running out of air. Timing it carefully, he ducked under the cylinder, slowing to a stop as the path he was following abruptly ended at the top of a lage room filled with the same balloons that Tails had fallen in love with.

The hedgehog frowned slightly. Balloons were full of air, weren't they?

Hoping against hope that this would work, Sonic leapt for a balloon, feeling it burst under his quills and launch him towards the ceiling. The effect was lessened underwater, but that didn't matter; his idea had worked. A huge bubble of air was now ascending towards him and he started towards it, intending to inhale, when Tails swam determinedly out from underneath and inhaled it himself.

"_Tails_!" Sonic yelled, or tried to; the words erupted from him in a string of bubbles, taking the last of Sonic's air with them. Frantic now, the hedgehog looked around. There was another balloon nearby, could he somehow use that...?

Flattening one hand against the wall, Sonic used it to drag himself forward onto the red orb and managed to brush the edge of one quill against it, bursting it and inhaling the resultant bubble gratefully. He could dimly make out light above him...if he could just...

Another explosion launched him out of the water not two feet away from the same force field generators he and Tails had run across earlier. Acting purely on instinct, Sonic reached towards it and pushed down with both hands. It felt odd, trying to gain a purchase on empty air, but it worked; he was out the water and hovering six inches above the ember-like tiles.

There was a soft hum from above and Sonic threw himself to the floor as something vaguely bat-shaped swooped down from the ceiling towards him. Hot pain slashed into the hedgehog's shoulder as whatever it was sliced into him, then it was gone.

A splash came from below as Tails pulled himself out of the water and flew up to join him, shaking himself dry in midair.

"Hi Sonic!"

Sonic folded his arms coldly. "Don't you _ever_ do that again!"

"Huh?" Tails frowned, puzzled. "Do what? Say hi?"

"Inhale a bubble when I'm close to drowning!" Sonic shivered. He didn't think he'd ever forget that; if there hadn't been another balloon nearby...it didn't bear thinking about.

Planting small fists on hips, Tails glared at him. "Well, how'm I s'posed to know you're close to drowning, Sonic? Mebbe next time you could wave at me or something so's I know not to breathe your air." He glanced over his shoulder. "Sonic?"

"What?"

"You said I could have a balloon, 'member? C'n I—"

"No!" Sonic didn't much like the idea of punishing the little fox for what had probably been an innocent mistake on Tails' part, but on the other hand, he didn't want Tails dismissing it as nothing.

Besides, he had a nasty suspicion that the little fox would expect Sonic to go back into the water to retrieve said balloon, and that really was out of the question.

Tails looked stricken. "But...but Sonic—"

"_No_, Tails! No balloon! You have just entered a Balloon-Free Zone! And maybe next time you'll think twice about a) breaking our rules and going on ahead and b) almost drowning me at the same time!" Spinning on his heel, already feeling guilty at the sight of Tails' huge blue eyes, Sonic strode away, the little fox trotting rapidly to keep up.

It was at least ten minutes before Sonic cooled down enough to apologise to Tails and make it up with him (although he still refused to go back for the little fox's balloon) and another five before the little fox started talking to Sonic again, and then it was only because they'd come to the end of the path.

"What're them, Sonic?"

"No idea." Sonic studied the objects curiously. What looked like huge pillars with a latticework of steel bars were whirling around, effectively blocking the way ahead. They were sliding up and down in slow yet continuous movements, and Sonic realised they had to be a part of whatever machinery was keeping this place running.

A slow grin appeared on his face. Well, why not?

Judging the distance carefully, he leapt for the first pillar, grabbing onto the bars and hanging on as they spun around, taking him with them. As soon as he was within reach, he let go, letting the momentum carry him on to the second pillar. From there he leapt to the third and had to pull his legs very quickly into his chest to avoid the sudden spikes on the wall. Hanging on grimly, the position already making his back ache, Sonic waited for the pillar to start descending again and for him to be at least six feet clear of the spikes before he released his grip and flew onto the opposite platform.

He'd just started to turn and check on Tails – who was using both namesakes to help him fly from pillar to pillar – when the little fox crashed into him and sent them both sprawling.

"Pounce attack! I gotcha, Sonic!"

Grinning, Sonic ruffled the fur on Tails' head. "Yeah, you got me, squirt. Kinda reminds me of how we first met, huh?"

"Yup!" Tails straddled Sonic's torso triumphantly, bouncing up and down on the hedgehog's ribs, then caught sight of something and scrambled off, almost trampling Sonic in the head. "Sonic, what's this do?"

"What's what do?"

"That." Tails pointed at a switch on the floor. In shape and design, it was identical to the ones that had already caused them so much trouble.

Getting to his feet, Sonic frowned at it. "I dunno, squirt."

"Can I push it?"

"Sure, why not?" Sonic answered in arid tones that were unfortunately lost on the little fox. "There must still be some deaths I haven't narrowly escaped yet." He rubbed his injured arm tenderly for emphasis; swinging around on those pillars had been fun, but it hadn't done much for either that arm or the good one that had taken most of his weight.

"Cool!" Tails raced forward and bounced onto the switch. There was a slight buzz of electricity, and then the lights flickered back on, illuminating not only the room they were standing in but a huge chute four feet ahead. Sonic swallowed. If they'd fallen down there...

That said, it didn't look like they were going to have much choice; there seemed to be only one way to go on. Carefully, Sonic edged forward to look down the chute, then glanced up at Tails.

"You think you could fly me down there, lil bro?"

"You betcha, Sonic!" Grabbing the hedgehog under the arms, the little fox swooped down the huge tunnel and deposited Sonic at the bottom of it.

The sound of footsteps caused both of them to tense, ready, and then an increasingly familiar figure stepped into the newly restored light.

"Hi." Despite his own emotions, Sonic was determined to get this guy to listen to him. "How's things?"

The stranger curled his lip. "You certainly are persistent, outsiders."

"You better believe it!" Tails informed him proudly. "We're real perstitment inside too!" Reaching up, he tugged Sonic's ear down to his mouth and said in a stage whisper, "What's perstitment, Sonic?"

Sonic eyed their antagonist coldly, not bothering to reply. "I suppose you're gonna turn the lights out again."

"You suppose wrong. I got a friend upstairs who wants to meet you, hedgehog. It'd be rude to leave without saying hello."

Sonic shifted his weight, his stare now slightly more uneasy. "This friend of yours. Big fat dude with killer machines and a moustache big enough to act as whiskers?"

"You'd know all about killer machines, wouldn't you, hedgehog?" Now there was a degree of enmity in the stranger's gaze that Sonic was at a loss to understand. Was he angry because the hedgehog had destroyed some of those same machines? If he was in league with Robotnik it seemed more than possible, but something still didn't fit.

"Well...yeah," Sonic said eventually, for want of a better reply. "I guess."

"Yeah, an' you go right ahead an' turn the lights out, mister, 'cause me and Sonic aren't scared of the dark!" Tails said belligerently, small fists clenched. "An' anyway, we'll jus' go back to the switch and turn 'em back on again an' then Sonic'll come back an' whump you real good!"

"I don't want to whump him," Sonic told the little fox for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"An' if you beat Sonic, you're jus' gonna have to whump _me_!" Tails added stridently, ignoring Sonic's comment.

The stranger curled his lip. "I don't have time for this." Stepping forward, he brought one foot down on the switch.

To Sonic's amazement, it did nothing more than suck him back up the tunnel he'd just left and on up another chute in the ceiling he hadn't noticed before.

He'd half expected it to keep going until it slammed him into the ceiling, but to his surprise the suction ended as soon as he and Tails had both left the second chute.

_Ha! Does he think that can stop us? _Grinning, Sonic started back towards the chute again. _Yeah, well, get ready pal, 'cause me and Tails'll just go right back the way we came!_

There was a humming sound and something that bore a strong resemblance to a vault door slid over the chute, effectively blocking the exit.

_Oh crap._

Was it worth spindashing? Possibly, although Sonic suspected it wouldn't make much difference. Besides, with the vault door in place, their antagonist could just turn the suction back on and walk away secure in the knowledge that there was no way Sonic could overcome it.

It took Sonic a few minutes to realise that although the vault door was locked into place, he could still hear the humming noise. Funny, it seemed to be coming from above...

The hedgehog closed his eyes with a grimace.

_Of course..._

Opening them again, he looked straight into Robotnik's face and quirked an eye ridge at him.

"Look who's here. Don't tell me; _you're_ the friend that guy mentioned?"

Robotnik chuckled. "Yes. I explained the situation to him and he was kind enough to send you to me."

Sonic folded his arms and glared at the doctor. "Oh _really_? And I suppose you told him that _I_ built all those robots?" He shook his head. "Just tell me one thing, doc. What does this guy have that you want so badly you're prepared to leave him alive to get it?"

Robotnik smiled broadly. "Oh Sonic, that really would be telling, wouldn't it?"

Sonic raised an eye ridge. "So...lemme guess. You're gonna try and kill me, and I'm gonna kick your butt all the way to the second moon."

"I rather doubt that, Sonic. In fact, I think my Egg Magnet's form of attack is likely to come as something of a shock to you." Robotnik pressed a button and a dark green sphere dropped to the ground.

It resembled no magnet Sonic – who had grown up with the classic cartoon horseshoe magnet painted in red and white – had ever seen, but it was undeniably effective; the hedgehog felt his feet sliding along the ground as he was pulled in by an invisible force. Lightning flashed down from the machine, orbiting the magnet with increasing rapidity.

Grinning, Robotnik pushed the throttle all the way up, the sudden increase in magnetism yanking Sonic off his feet, and then returned it to its usual position. Why rush things?

"You can't _do_ that!" Tails protested, although memories of what had happened before kept him prudently out of arm's reach. "You can't suck Sonic in, ol' Robotnik, 'cause he's not metal!"

Robotnik smiled indulgently, as though Tails was nothing more than a favourite nephew. "He's wearing metal, cub. Those fasteners on his sneakers are metal, or had you forgotten that?" He shrugged. "And without them, he can't hope to run fast enough to beat me."

The electricity hit Sonic's body and he barely managed to stifle a yell as the four lightning pillars spun faster and faster, each one earthing itself in his form seconds before the next.

And then, quite suddenly, it stopped.

"Blast!" Robotnik thumped the dashboard in frustration. That was half the problem with working away from his beloved Death Egg; he was limited in his resources and his constructions tended to suffer as a result.

Oh well. It would recharge itself in a few minutes.

Lowering the Egg Magnet, Robotnik pressed the switch to retrieve the large ball, then returned to his previous height, leaving Sonic's quivering body on the ground.

"Sonic!" Tails swooped down and grabbed the hedgehog, only to withdraw his hands with a yelp as electricity jumped from Sonic's body to his.

Sonic didn't react, didn't even give any sign he'd heard the little fox. Frantic now, Tails fumbled with the hedgehog's sneakers, attempting to wrestle them off even as the Egg Magnet started sucking them in again.

One sneaker came off and flew towards the magnet, and Tails redoubled his efforts on the second. The power of the magnet was strong enough to drag him along the floor with Sonic, and if he didn't get it off soon...Tails flattened his ears. Boy, if he didn't save Sonic from being zapped, the hedgehog was gonna be _real_ mad with him!

The second sneaker came off just as Tails felt the fur on his back start to tingle. Seizing Sonic under the arms, he hauled him out of range and then shook him vigorously.

"SONIC!"

Semi-conscious, the hedgehog batted at him like Tails was a fly.

"Sonic, you gotta go whump ol' Robotnik!" Tails increased the shaking, oblivious to the fact that he was now banging the hedgehog's head hard against the ground. "C'mon Sonic!"

Sonic shoved him reflexively, hitting him more by luck than judgment, then forced himself to his feet. He was tired, he was aching, and – Robotnik or no Robotnik – right at that moment all Sonic wanted to do was curl up somewhere and sleep for a week.

Forcing his tired body into a run, Sonic raced along the floor and halfway up the wall. Kicking off, he twisted in midair and slammed into the Egg Magnet, hitting it halfway up and burrowing into it. There was a creak of tortured metal, and half the machine dropped to the ground, sparking and fizzing furiously.

"You can't _run_!" Robotnik sounded almost scandalised. "That little fox took your shoes, Sonic; there's no way you can run that fast without protection."

Sonic pasted a grin onto his face and looked up at the doctor. "That's all _you_ know, doc." He leapt again, not quite close enough to do any damage but close enough to make Robotnik rethink his whole attack plan, at least for this Zone. Better to get out while the getting was good and repair his machine.

With a lot of groaning and clanking that wasn't usually found in Robotnik's devices, the Egg Magnet lumbered higher into the air, flying through a huge skylight that Sonic was prepared to bet had been created/blasted by Robotnik for just such a purpose.

"Is he gone?" Sonic asked Tails, who flew up to check before hollering down, "YEAH!"

"Great." The hedgehog sat down rather abruptly and rubbed his feet in an attempt to alleviate the friction burns. They were already badly blistered, and Sonic thought that that was all he needed.

_Yeah. Just in case doing my arm in wasn't enough, let's spread the pain to my feet._

Tails landed next to him with a bump – landings were still something the little fox hadn't quite got perfect yet – and studied Sonic's feet curiously.

"Boy, that sure looks painful, Sonic."

Sonic winced as his rubbing passed over a particularly tender spot. "Yeah, well, that would fit, squirt, since it feels like I just ran my feet to pieces." Abandoning the rubbing, he picked up his sneakers and pulled them back on. They had to get out of here; if Robotnik was in league with that red guy, then there was nothing stopping the doctor sending him here to finish the job, and Sonic wasn't sure he could survive a fight with him in his current situation.

First things first though; somewhere around here there should be...ah, there it was! A Prison Egg. Hope sparked in Sonic; if there were people anywhere, it would be in this Zone, surely?

Picking up speed (and limping), he raced up and leapt on top of it, shattering it and freeing the occupants. Bluebirds and rabbits – all feral – burst out in a panic, causing Tails to yip in alarm and drop to the ground, covering his head until the deluge of animals had passed.

Ignoring this, Sonic sat back on his heels, frowning. An entire island _couldn't_ be empty, could it? That red guy had to have come from somewhere; what about his family? He was no creature Sonic had ever seen on Mobius, which could only mean his kind was native to this island.

Well, he supposed he'd find out sooner or later. In the meantime, he had another problem; namely how to get out of here. The only possible exit was a window, and that was too high up for Tails to fly him. Even if it hadn't been, Sonic didn't much like the thought of punching through thick glass with his bare hands.

Looking around, he caught sight of a cannon in the far corner and grimaced. Man, he wished he'd spotted that during the fight with Robotnik!

Closer inspection revealed it was identical to the one that had fired him up onto that platform earlier, and a broad grin spread across his face.

"Hey Tails?"

"Yup?"

"You still wanna be a Super Cool Mega Whumping Fox Cannonball Thingy of Doom?"

Tails bounced up, balancing on his namesakes and beaming all over his little face. "Boy, do I ever!"

"Sweet!" Grabbing the little fox, Sonic swung him into his arms. "Hang on!"

Before his better nature had time to make itself heard and demand if this could possibly work, the hedgehog had already leapt into the cannon, aimed it at the window and pulled the string.

**MAN, this one was tough to write! I'm really sorry it took this long, guys; fingers crossed I don't hit another block like this one again :) If you read, please review!**


	9. Discussions

**SonicTails123: Thanks :D Yes, there is a Sonic 1 adaptation on the way, probably after this one (I can only really work on one adaptation at a time :))**

**CalliopeMused: Glad you liked it :) And sorry to hear you're sick, hope you're better soon :D**

**DragonRaiderX9: Thanks :) Yeah, everything's pretty much hinging around Hidden Palace :P As for Sonic's recovery...well, a little rest and he'll probably be fine ;) (If he can get that rest without being hunted and blown up by Robotnik, that is...)**

**Milette Tails Prower: (blushes) Thanks, glad you enjoyed it :D Number of chapters...well, there are fourteen Zones to get through, most of which are gonna be interspersed with Knuckles/Robotnik chapters, plus an epilogue/final chapter to tie everything together...at the moment I'd say twenty six in total, but that could change ;)**

**Awdures: Thanks :)**

**Ippiki Ookami no Kage: Heh, yeah :P Sonic should be fine soon enough ;) And thanks, glad you liked it :D**

**Feniiku: Thanks :D I don't know what it is about the casino type Zones; I seem to remember having similar problems with Casino Night Zone in Rising Star. I guess there's just not a lot that can really be said about them :) And glad you liked the magnet thing...it was about the only explanation I could think of :P**

**Dr Namgge: Yeah, it was :) I think Tails does have a great memory, partly because of his intelligence and partly because that's just how he is ;) The Super Emeralds...you will find out about those, but not until the very end. And thanks, I'll try; fingers crossed future chapters will be back up to standard ;)**

**Tucker's Mayflower: (blushes) Thanks; I'm glad you liked it :D Yeah, Tails does come out with some pretty cute things, doesn't he? ;)**

**D.C.111: Thanks :) I thought it was about time Sonic got injured in some way; he's had a relatively easy (or at least painless) journey so far...**

**Gameorama91: Heh, thanks :P Sometimes I wonder where Tails comes up with these names**

**Matt Lans: Oh yeah. You'd think living on Angel Island would be enough of a vacation for Knux, but nooo...**

**RiverAiden: I have too many stories running around loose in my head already; that's half the problem sometimes :P**

**Taranea: Thanks, I try :)**

**TC Chan: Oh yeah. Once they reach Sandopolis, I think Tails is going to be all chocolated out ;)**

**SexyShadowGirl: Yeah, Sonic died a lot in that Zone with me (kept running out of time until I found out how to work those damn diamond blocks) :P**

"What happened to _you_?"

Robotnik jerked up convulsively, banged his head on the Egg-O-Matic's open hood, swore in three different languages including Latin and finally emerged to say, "Sonic."

"Again?" Knuckles shook his head. "You know, I'm starting to see a pattern emerging here. That hedgehog is far more determined and resourceful than you seem to give him credit for."

Turning around to lean against the Egg-O-Matic, Robotnik fixed Knuckles with a glare that might have been a lot more efficient if he'd thought to remove the welding mask first.

"Maybe now you see why I've been having so much difficulty dealing with him."

The echidna snorted. "Yeah. Well. If he keeps on like he is, he just might run into a little _surprise_." To emphasise, he smacked one clenched fist into his palm.

"You mean like he has the last five times?" Robotnik shot back.

Knuckles' purple eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Yeah, I want to talk to you about that. Not long after that hedgehog escaped, someone drained the pools again. I know I didn't, and since there's nobody else on this island..." He let the sentence trail off and then, when Robotnik was silent, added, "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it was almost like you were trying to save him."

The doctor racked his brains for something to say and drew a blank, mostly because Knuckles was right; he _had_ been trying to save Sonic. Not through any altruistic feelings on his part, but because it had only just occurred to him that in this situation, the hedgehog was far more useful to him alive than dead. Alright, so granted Sonic's death would make taking over Mobius a lot easier, but that wasn't the point behind all this.

Robotnik wanted the Master Emerald. There was no way Knuckles would be persuaded or even coerced into telling him where it was, and Robotnik didn't like the thought of another adversary; he had a hard enough time with Sonic!

He sighed. That said, if the hedgehog died, things would get very awkward. With Sonic gone, he'd have no reason to remain on Angel Island and no way to get to the Master Emerald without coming up against Knuckles. Fair enough, he knew full well that that was going to be on the cards anyway, as soon as the echidna found out he'd been tricked, but he wanted it to happen on _his_ terms.

"I want him alive," he said at last. "The hedgehog is a thorn in my side, interfering with my rule of Mobius. I want him to pay for what he's done to me, and I want the people of Mobius to _see_ him pay."

Knuckles stared hard into Robotnik's face for a long moment, and saw nothing there but the honest truth.

"My duty is to protect the Master Emerald, creature, and I'll do that by any means necessary. You want him alive, then go and capture him yourself! If I get my chance with him, he's dead. Just like you wanted."

Robotnik heaved the sigh of a man who feels he's doomed to be misunderstood. "Knuckles, when have I ever claimed to want to _kill_ Sonic?"

"You said you wanted to get rid of him."

The doctor shrugged. If the echidna hadn't hit him now, he probably wasn't likely to.

"There are plenty of ways to get rid of someone, Guardian. And speaking of which...you know the Zones better than me. Is there any way Sonic can get out of that room in Carnival Night?"

Knuckles shook his head. "Unlikely. There's nothing but a window, and that's too high up for either of them to break. They're not going anywhere."

Robotnik hesitated. That was all very well, but – enmity notwithstanding – he had a healthy and extremely private respect for Sonic's resourcefulness. He'd left the hedgehog to die on his Wing Fortress and flown up to his Death Egg, which had been in outer space, and Sonic had still managed to follow him.

"Is there anything in there that could be used for a weapon?"

Knuckles considered. "There's an old cannon, but it's been out of ammo for centuries. I don't think—"

"Knuckles," Robotnik said suddenly, "does that cannon still fire?"

The echidna's frown deepened. "I guess so, but like I said, it's been out of ammo for..." He broke off again, realising.

For a long moment, both human and echidna stared at each other.

"Oh, soul of the _ancestors_," Knuckles said disbelievingly, "tell me he isn't going to..."

Robotnik opened his mouth to reply, but at that point the explosion from Carnival Night Zone cut him off, and he simply shrugged instead.

**ACK! Yet another apology for being so late with this. I do have a better reason though; I was moving house and pretty much up to my eyes in everything :) Anyway, hope you liked this and if you read, please review!**


	10. Ice Cap Zone Act One

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm back (yes, for good this time)! I owe you guys the mother of all apologies for how long it's taken me to get to work on this. Who'd have thought moving house would be so bloody complicated? Oh well, my home internet is now FINALLY connected (does happy dance drawing weird looks from people in street) Ahem. Yes.**_

_**One other thing though; Because of the size and detail of the Zones in S3&K as opposed to Sonic 2 (and because some people seem to have missed/skipped over the mini-boss fights in previous chapters :P) from now on I'll be giving each Zone Act its own chapter. This might make the chapters slightly shorter, but on the plus side it means I'll be able to update more often ;)**_

**CalliopeMused: Heh, thanks :) I rewrote Knuckles' line a few times before settling on that one, so I'm glad you like it :D**

**Taranea: I'd like my new place a lot more if the removal men had put the furniture in **_**behind**_** the boxes as opposed to in front of them ::) And yeah, in his own way I think Sonic can be as inventive as Tails ;)**

**Professor Vengeance: Yeah, too many Sonic things these days have Tails acting as an adult in a kid's body. He's more fun as a five year old :P**

**DragonRaiderX9: Short…yeah, there aren't many ways for Knux and Robotnik to basically have the same conversation. Though that's going to be sorted for the next of their chapters ;)**

**Ippiki Ookami no Kage: Thanks :) And I know it's been too long between updates…never again, I promise. At least, not with **_**this**_** story ;)**

**Milette Tails Prower: Yeah, I love Robotnik's version of events. Working out convincing lies for how Sonic is the bad guy's fun :P**

**Awdures: Yep, it's up and running again (and again, and again :P)**

**D.C.111: Thanks :D**

**SonicTails123: Thanks :) Yeah, I kind of see Robotnik as the guy who would want to know as much as he can about everything, including various languages. He is a scientist, after all ;)**

**PyroHedgehog: Heh. I have the feeling Robotnik's lies are going to trip him up sooner or later. Probably sooner.**

**SexyShadowGirl: Okay, is this soon enough? Um. Actually, on second thoughts, best not to answer that…;)**

**Matt Lans: You said it:D**

**Rebell: Oddly enough, it was Knuckles' appearance in **_**Sonic Heroes**_** that got me back into the whole Sonic franchise. I bought the game on a whim after years of being out the Sonic loop (to give you some idea, the only characters I knew were Sonic, Tails and Robotnik) and Knuckles just grabbed me and dragged me back in ;)**

**TC chan: Ooh, Sonic having to construct an escape with a tube of lipstick…LOVE IT! And here is Ice Cap Zone. At least, the first half of it :P**

**Supreme Gamesmaster Yddisac: Actually, I think Sonic was born into the Cult of the Insane People ;)**

**Shika Kev Prower: Hmm…I like that idea. I'll see what I can do for future chapters ;)**

**Riveraiden: Yeah, it should be…interesting. Heh :P**

**SSHiei: Thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying it :D I've given some thought to the Knux/Sonic versus Mecha Sonic story…since I don't want to risk pissing off fans of both events, I have a couple of ideas for working both threads together ;)**

**angelus2040: Thanks :D **_**Sonic 1**_** adaptation will be uploaded (or at least begun ;)) after this one is complete :P**

**shadow-spawn180: Thanks, and as requested, one next update**

Sonic was worried.

Firing himself out of a rusty old cannon straight through a window had seemed like such a good idea at the time. The problem came right about now, when he'd realised that he hadn't made any plans for landing and the ground was getting nearer and nearer. Usually in the Mobian atmosphere that wasn't a problem, but with the added velocity from the cannon coupled with some of those nasty looking rocks underneath, Sonic thought that he wasn't likely to come out of this without breaking both legs and very possibly his neck as well.

Then he caught sight of the snowboard sticking up out of the ground. He didn't have time to wonder how it had got there, or what the chances were of a snowboard just _happening_ to be where he was about to crash, as at that point he landed on the tip and flipped the snowboard out of the ground.

There was a brief moment of confusion as Sonic and the snowboard spun around each other in midair, neither sure who was going to end up on top, then the hedgehog managed to get it underneath him and clung on as it hit the ground again.

Sonic wasn't exactly an expert snowboarder; it had always been more Mighty's thing than his. On a run like this, he found it was easier to just drop to his knees, wrap his hands in the bindings, hang on for dear life and hope like hell he didn't hit a—

"TREE!" Tails yelped from up ahead and Sonic's head snapped up to see a large fir apparently leap out of nowhere towards him. Yanking hard with his left hand, he flipped sideways into a snowdrift.

What felt like cold wet fluff surrounded him, entering his ears and nose. Gasping, he struggled upright, still dragging the snowboard behind him.

"Sonic?" Tails came to hover anxiously nearby. "You okay?"

Sonic raised his good hand in a weak thumbs up. "Yeah, squirt. I'm good." Limping slightly, he glared at the snowboard and then down the mountain.

There was no getting away from it, he realised. Even he couldn't run down there without breaking his neck, and it was too far for Tails to carry him. If he was going to go down, it would have to be on the board.

Dropping down, he fastened the bindings more securely around his feet. The slope was steep, but it looked smooth enough to board down.

_I just hope I can remember how to do this_…

It was going to be a long, long ride. They were above the clouds and looking down through the maze of trees, Sonic found he couldn't actually see the bottom of the slope.

Crouching down, he started to move, picking up speed rapidly. Icy winds cut into his head, making his eyes and nose run and effectively blinding him.

"Sonic! Sonic, there's a tree ahead!"

Sonic threw his weight blindly to the left and the snowboard tumbled sideways across the slope, dropping off a short precipice to land in the canyon ten feet below with enough force to knock the breath from the hedgehog's body. Miraculously, he was still alive and still on top.

The board curved steeply to the right and Sonic felt a sudden weightlessness as the momentum carried it up the wall before diving back down again.

At least the wind wasn't so bad here. Sonic risked opening his eyes and saw he was heading for a sheer edge.

Well, he'd survived the last drop. This one probably wouldn't be any different.

The snowboard sailed off the edge of the cliff in a graceful arc, and Sonic twisted his head around to grin at Tails, who was flying alongside.

"Looks like you're not the only airborne member of this team now! This how your first flight went, squir—?"

There was a loud _thud_ as Sonic crashed into the side of the mountain, cutting him off midsentence. Scrabbling frantically for a handhold, the hedgehog only succeeded in slowing his fall slightly, and if it hadn't been for the fifteen foot snowdrifts at the bottom, he might well have broken his leg.

As he fought his way clear of the snow, shaking his head and cuffing it out of his ear for the second time that day, Tails landed next to him.

"Yup, that was pretty much it, Sonic, 'cept for I hit a tree an' there was no snow."

Sonic rubbed his arms vigorously, wincing at the fresh pain from his shoulder. The cold and the damp were both doing nothing for his injury, and suddenly he wanted nothing more than to be curled up on a couch with a huge mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream on top and a good movie showing on TV.

"Sonic?" Anxious now, Tails reached up and clung to his idol's good arm. "Are you okay?"

The hedgehog reluctantly tore his thoughts away from movies and hot drinks to grin down at his adopted brother.

"Yeah, lil bro, I'm okay." He shivered; there was a bitterly cold wind picking up now and he started walking towards the glacier. Someone had scooped out an opening that looked big enough to drive a blimp into. Inside, the hedgehog could see what looked like a cavern followed by a steep drop – probably into more snow, he thought sourly – and shivered.

"Man, I never wanna see another snowdrift as long as I live!"

A few seconds later, a large amount of snow that had been dislodged by the force of the hedgehog's impact fell on top of him with a soft _flump_.

After a short while, Sonic tunnelled out of it again, scowling at the helplessly giggling Tails in a way that dared him to comment.

It took several minutes before Tails had composed himself enough to stop laughing, something which wasn't helped by the fact that Sonic was still covered in snow.

"Boy, that sure was funny, huh Sonic?"

"Speak for yourself." Sonic's voice was drier than he intended; his recently repaired shoulder was now starting to throb, a low, damp agony that was only exacerbated by Tails padding over and grabbing his bad arm tightly in a show of affection. Sonic winced and tried to extricate himself (or at the very least, switch arms) without making it too obvious.

Tails peered up at him, no longer giggling or even grinning.

"Does your shoulder still hurt, Sonic?"

Sonic glanced at the anxious little fox and managed a grin. "I'll be fine, squirt. I just gotta take it easy for a day or so. C'mon."

He led the way into the cavern and sat down just inside, propping his back against one of the walls that framed the entrance in the hopes that it would offer some protection from the bitter wind that was now blowing flurries of snow inside.

Yes, that was _definitely_ a drop over there, he realised as he saw the edge of the ice more clearly, and not one he planned on investigating either. He and Tails could rest here and move on in the morning; being trapped inside that carnival-type Zone with its artificial night meant that Sonic had had no idea of what the time might be now. The light hadn't died out the sky yet, but it was starting to, and he didn't much like the idea of wandering around this icy landscape – correction, this icy landscape _full of cliffs and precipices_ – in the dark.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

Tails plonked himself down and wriggled closer to the hedgehog, snuggling into his body warmth. "How come you like snow?"

Sonic blinked. "Well...because it's fun and I never got to see any growing up. Why wouldn't I like it?"

The little fox frowned in return, small snout wrinkled with the effort of thought. "Well...'cause you hate water, an' snow's jus' real _cold_ water that's all fluffy, so how come you don't like water but like snow, huh Sonic? How come?"

Sonic opened his mouth, then shut it again. He'd never thought of it like that before.

"Well...you can't drown in snow," he said, and then cursed himself for giving Tails the perfect opening.

"You wouldn't drown in water neither, Sonic, if you'd lemme teach you to swim!"

"I don't swim, Tails."

The little fox sighed so gustily he stirred up snow crystals. "I _know_ that! That's why I gotta teach you!"

"Well…why don't we talk about it in the morning?" Sonic yawned. His hectic flight down the mountain coupled with his injury and the events in that last Zone had left him feeling more tired than he had in a long time.

"You'll lemme teach you in the morning?"

The hedgehog woke up slightly; there was no way he was falling for _that_!

"Nice try, lil bro."

Pause.

"Sonic?"

"Mph?"

"I'm cold."

Sonic stirred slightly. "Okay. C'mere."

He stretched out an arm and wrapped it around the little fox as Tails burrowed into his ribs, curling up as small as possible.

_Just five minutes_, Sonic told himself as his eyes forced themselves closed, _just five_…

* * *

When Sonic woke up early the next morning, he was stiff, cold and oddly muzzy. A thin dusting of snow covered his fur and he shivered violently.

They had to get further in. The thought pounded slowly in his head like a gong. Even if Robotnik was waiting for them, for their own sakes they had to get further in or they would be dead from exposure before too long.

Sonic forced himself up onto his knees and elbows. His bad arm almost buckled under this new strain that was put upon it, spilling him sideways.

"Tails?" The hedgehog's voice was slightly slurred with cold. "Tails!"

The fox, who had suffered slightly less than Sonic due to his thick fur and his habit of bundling himself up in both namesakes whenever he was cold, opened groggy eyes.

"Wassamarrer?"

"We're going in. C'mon." Successfully getting to his feet on the third attempt, Sonic bent down to lift Tails into his arms, a process made all the more difficult by the fact that his hands didn't seem to want to cooperate.

Turning, he started to jog. He didn't dare run; his little journey on the snowboard had taught him that high speeds in freezing temperatures resulted in white-hot headaches.

The drop he'd seen earlier turned out to be no more than about ten feet. To Sonic's surprise, he found he was now standing in what appeared to be the entrance to some kind of tunnel network. The corridor he was in was wide, pleasantly lit by the sun's rays through the glacier above, and a little warmer than the ledge he and Tails had been resting on before.

First things first. Sonic looked around and spotted a dark opening behind him. That would do.

Hoisting Tails slightly higher in his arms, the hedgehog walked over to the tunnel, placed his passenger down by the tunnel and then wriggled into it. Oddly enough, it didn't seem to go anywhere, but continued on for about ten feet before coming to an abrupt stop.

Rubbing his now sore head, Sonic crawled backwards for a foot or so and then stopped, thinking. It was worth a try.

Turning away from the dead end, he curled over and started to spin, ploughing through the ice and carving out another tunnel, which he then widened into a small chamber just big enough for him and Tails.

Getting the little fox into this new accommodation proved slightly harder, as Tails wouldn't wake up and Sonic couldn't very well carry him while crawling. Eventually the hedgehog managed it by crawling backwards and dragging the little fox by the ankles.

With the two of them in that small room, it didn't take long for the place to warm up. Much to Sonic's relief, an hour or so after they'd got inside, Tails started to stir and then opened his eyes.

"Sonic?"

Sonic grinned down at him. "Hey squirt. How're you doing?"

"Okay." Tails yawned so hugely Sonic could see down the back of his throat, then snuggled into the hedgehog's body again. "It's real warm here, huh Sonic?"

Sonic tensed. "Yeah. It is."

Even through his drowsiness, Tails felt Sonic's anger and looked up at him, bemused.

"Sonic, how come you're mad? Did I do something bad again?"

The hedgehog forced another grin. "No, squirt. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself for letting us sleep out there in those temperatures."

Too groggy to really follow this, Tails just nodded sleepily and fell asleep again.

It was late afternoon before either of them felt up to moving on, something that was decided more by their empty stomachs than any real desire. The chill of the air outside their nook was like a slap in the face, and Sonic had a lot of trouble persuading Tails – who had immediately turned and scampered back into the tunnel so fast he left smoke trails – to come out again. Eventually he managed it by promising to carry Tails until they managed to get out of the mountains…which would happen pretty damn quick if Sonic had his way.

This arrangement lasted until Sonic had leapt up onto a higher ridge, Tails clinging determinedly to his front, and caught sight of the glint of metal that was waiting for them.

Sonic sometimes thought that he'd become like a robot himself; when he saw one of Robotnik's devices he scanned his memory hastily and tried to remember if he'd seen it before and if so, how he'd dealt with it. He often wondered if this mental database with referencing and cross-referencing was how robots saw the world.

Whether it was or not, it did a good job of saving Sonic and Tails' respective lives at that second; Sonic saw the metallic sphere surrounded by razor sharp balls and identified it in under half a second.

_Orbinaut_!

"_Down_!" Sonic yelled, dropping Tails and then flinging himself face down on the floor beside him as a crystalline object flashed over their heads to burrow a hole in the icy wall beyond. Seconds later, a shaft of brilliant sunlight flashed through the newly created tunnel.

"Wha—" Tails started to get to his feet, but Sonic slammed him back to the ground again and leapt up, presenting himself as a more inviting target.

Orbinauts…orbinauts…they were deadly, yes, but also somewhat predictable. The spiked balls orbited around them before being flung off at nearby targets. Once the last had gone, you could attack and destroy the machine whenever you wanted.

As if to prove the point, light glinted at the corner of Sonic's eye and he leapt reflexively. The sphere barely clipped his foot, hard enough to knock him off balance and send him stumbling forward upon landing.

"_Sonic_!" Tails leapt up and grabbed the nearest sphere, yanking hard in an effort to pull it away from the robot. It worked better than he expected; the orbit direction changed as the machine flung the ball away, Tails still clinging determinedly to it. The little fox spun both namesakes rapidly, lifting himself out the path of the fourth and final sphere, then dropped to the ground.

"C'mon Sonic! You c'n whump that robot now, 'cause he hasn't got the balls to kill you now!"

Sonic, who had been curling up in preparation to do just that, paused and shot Tails a sharp look. There were times when he really wondered about some of the little fox's remarks.

"C'mon Sonic, it's easy! Watch!" Tails bounded to his feet and pounced on the orbinaut feet first, smashing it and releasing what looked like a feral penguin chick. It gave a small squeak, turned and promptly tried to sit on Sonic's feet.

Tails giggled. "Can we keep him, Sonic?"

"No." The word was surprised out of Sonic before he could stop himself and Tails' face drooped. "It's not fair, squirt." Bending down, Sonic moved the baby penguin out of the way as gently as he could. "He belongs with his own kind."

"But I wanna pet, Sonic!" Tails' eyes were huge and Sonic, who recognised the danger signs, thought fast.

"Yeah, well, we can talk about that another time, squirt. When we leave this island, maybe."

Tails opened his mouth to protest, saw Sonic was wearing what Tails always thought of as his Firm Face, and shut it again reluctantly. The Firm Face was not to be argued with.

"C'n I keep _this_ then?" Tails demanded, holding up the stray sphere from the orbinaut in the manner of one who is determined to get _some_ good out of the deal. "Is it ice, Sonic?"

The hedgehog took it, testing the weight in one hand, then held it up to the light, staring at it. Surely not…

"I think..." Sonic's voice was low, disbelieving. "Anything like that ice woulda shattered. This is gonna sound crazy, squirt, but...I think this could be a diamond."

Tails' eyes lit up, slowly. "_Wow_. Really?"

"Yeah. It's about the only thing I can think of that would go through the rock like the others did."

"I heard somewhere that diamonds're real expensive!"

"You heard right, lil bro." Especially one this size; the largest diamond Sonic had ever seen had been on display in the Jungle Zone, and that had been slightly smaller than his clenched fist. This one was easily the size of his head. "Whatever it is, someone's sure gone to a lot of trouble to carve these spikes into it."

Tails frowned, puzzled. "How come? Who'd wanna big spiky diamond rock thing?"

"Another big spiky diamond rock thing?" Sonic quipped under his breath.

"What?"

"Never mind." A glance at the little fox's fur, now somewhat shorter on top following the orbinaut's attack, prompted Sonic to add, "Are you okay?"

Tails sat down with a bump and looked up at Sonic. "Yup, 'cept for I'm real hungry, Sonic."

And no wonder, Sonic thought grimly; shivering burnt up calories faster than any amount of exercise. Why had he done it? What could have possessed him to make camp practically out in the open in conditions like these?

"Okay. You stay here, squirt." Reaching down, Sonic wrapped the little fox up in both namesakes, then ruffled his fur. "I'm gonna go find us some food, okay?"

Getting down was a lot easier than getting up had been; all Sonic had to do was jump off the edge, extricate himself from the snowdrift and set off.

There was no sign of life as he explored the mountains. He couldn't get back the way they'd come; that cliff was just too high and too steep.

_What is this place_? Breath misting in the air, Sonic rubbed his arms, wincing as he made contact with his bad shoulder. It was better than before, but the coldness had stiffened it up and made it throb dully.

Well, at least he wouldn't have to climb too many rocks. Sonic's little snowboarding sojourn had dumped him in what looked like a valley, or canyon. Various other caves were visible as stark black holes against the white of the mountains, and it was clear by the smoothness of the snow that nobody ever came here.

Sonic continued on, feet crunching loudly on the packed snow. The stillness of the place was eerie; there weren't even any birds in the trees.

He glanced to his left, to a cave there. Large icicles hung down in the entrance, turning it into a mouth full of teeth. Sonic shivered and quickened his pace. He couldn't go too fast, or he might miss spotting anything edible, but he had a haunting feeling that something in or about that cave was watching him.

The trees were getting thicker around him. Instead of reassuring the hedgehog, making him feel less exposed, it had the opposite effect; now the creaking branches seemed ominous.

_You're not welcome here._

Sonic was never able to explain where that particular realisation came from, or why it hit him harder here than it had during his and Tails' confrontations with that red guy.

Against his will, his mind flashed back to his and Mighty's favourite bedtime story. He was damned if he could remember it all now, but one of the pictures had shown the hero running through a haunted forest with the trees behind him stretching out evil, clawed branches to grab him. Turning round hadn't done any good either; it was only the trees the hero couldn't see that tried to snatch him.

Sonic shuddered. He didn't believe in ghosts or haunted forests, but if they _did_ exist, he had an uncomfortable feeling that they'd look a lot like the one he was in now. He also couldn't shake the thought that he was still being watched.

"Who's there?" His voice rang out strongly, betraying no sign of the trepidation he was feeling. The words bounced off the nearest mountain and probably half a dozen trees as well, then died away into silence.

There was no response, but somehow Sonic knew for certain that he wasn't alone. Clearing his throat, he tried again.

"Look...this is really freaking me out. If someone is there, why don't you come on out? I won't hurt you; I just want to talk. I'm looking for some food. My kid brother's back in the cave, he needs something to eat. We both do."

More silence. Sonic waited in case his mystery watcher was going to break it and when it became apparent that he wasn't, he continued walking until a clump of bushes caught his eye.

Crowberries! Sonic grinned broadly. He'd know those anywhere; his adoptive grandmother had had entire thickets in her garden.

Reaching in past the leaves, he started pulling the shiny black berries off the nearest bush, eventually stuffing them into both his gloves. There were still plenty left when he'd finished and he grinned broadly. Maybe they wouldn't starve after all.

Wandering back down the path, he ducked under a low-hanging branch and then paused, frowning slightly as he peered up at it.

Pine trees. Sonic hesitated before making up his mind; after all, everyone knew you could eat tree bark, right? Right?

Moving back for a good run up, he hurtled towards the nearest specimen and spun through it. There was a low creaking sound, and the tree started to lean.

It didn't lean up the slope, like Sonic had been expecting; instead it keeled over backwards and almost flattened him before rolling down the mountain and landing with a loud _crash_ at the bottom.

Looking down at it, Sonic scratched his head.

_Well...that kind of worked._

He broke into a jog, slipping on treacherous ice patches on the way down. He didn't know why, but he had a sudden urge to get out of this forest, and _fast_.

Tails was asleep and snoring loudly when the hedgehog got back. Grinning, Sonic started forward and then stopped dead as he caught sight of something.

Footprints. Too large and the wrong shape for his sneakers, too small for Robotnik. Twisting his head, he saw he'd been following them all the way from the entrance; he'd just been too preoccupied to notice them before. The prints led all the way up to Tails, stopping not six inches away from him. One of them was blurred, leading into a second set of tracks going away from the fox.

Sonic stared at them, needles of ice shooting through his veins.

_Someone came...they came right up to Tails and...what?_

As far as Sonic could make out, the visitor had done nothing except possibly look at the fox and then turn and walk off. Had he left because he'd decided Tails was no threat? Or had Sonic's arrival scared him off before he'd had a chance to do anything?

Sonic swallowed hard. If Tails had been hurt, it might have been because of Sonic himself; he'd called out in the forest, giving away the little fox's location.

Abruptly, he dropped his full gloves onto the freezing ground and followed the tracks to a small tunnel, so well hidden that Sonic spent a good few minutes wondering if their owner could somehow walk through walls.

He didn't try entering the tunnel; he wasn't _that_ reckless. Instead he crouched down in the entrance and spoke into the passage in a low voice, careful not to wake the still snoring Tails.

"I don't know who the hell you are or think you are. I don't know why you've taken against us so much or what we've done to you; neither of us came to this island to pick a fight with you." He lowered his voice even further, one fist clenched, eyes little more than blazing green crescents. "But if you _dare_ threaten or come anywhere near my little brother again, I'll kill you. You hear me? I'll _kill_ you."

There was no response, not that he'd expected one. Still seething, Sonic spun on his heel and strode back over to Tails, reaching down to shake the little fox's shoulder gently.

"C'mon lil bro, wake up. I brought you some food."

Tails opened eyes stiff with sleep and stretched out, chewing on the air.

"Huh…?" He sat up, brushing ice crystals off his fur, then inhaled loudly. "Boy, you smell nice, Sonic."

"Thanks, squirt," Sonic said lightly, examining his fur, which was still sticky with sawdust and pine resin. "Here." He filled the small pan half full with water, then emptied the contents of both gloves into it.

"Ooh!" Curiosity replacing sleepiness, Tails wriggled forward with such alacrity he almost burned himself. "What're them?"

"Crowberries. My adopted grandmother had a bush in her garden; she used to make pies for me and Mighty."

Tails stared at Sonic with something akin to awe. "You can make _pies_?"

The hedgehog winked at him. "Well, I can boil berries. That's a start. Here, try this." He passed over a slice of bark to Tails, who sniffed it suspiciously, licked it, nibbled off a corner and then pulled a face.

"Don't like it!"

"Sorry to hear that, lil bro, 'cause apart from the berries, that's all we got. Look." Taking the bark back from Tails, he held it over the fire until it had dried out a little, then passed it back. "Pretend it's a piece of toast or something."

Tails took it, sniffed it again, then shook his head stubbornly. "Nuh uh!"

Sonic stifled a groan; the last thing he needed was for Tails to be in a Bad Mood, as the little fox always put it (taking care to pronounce the capital letters). He started to repeat what he'd said, and then thought of something better.

"Okay squirt. If you really don't like it, I'll get you something else just as soon as I've eaten."

"_Yeah_!" Tails bundled his namesakes under both legs for a cushion and sat crosslegged on them. "You're gonna go soon, right Sonic? Right? 'Cause I'm real hungry!"

"Yeah, lil bro, I'm gonna go soon." Sonic pretended interest in the slowly bubbling mess of berries and water for a few seconds, then added, "But if you're not going to eat that, can I have it?"

Tails pulled a face. "Sure!"

Thrusting the bark at Sonic as though glad to be rid of it, he folded his arms and started tapping his foot in his best impression of the hedgehog.

"Thanks." Dipping the bark into the pot of makeshift jam, Sonic took a bite and chewed with obvious relish. "Oh man, that's good!"

"What?" Tails clambered into Sonic's lap, reaching out for the bark. "Lemme try some, Sonic."

The hedgehog held the food just out of reach, shaking his head. "Oh no. _You_ don't like it, remember?"

"B-but that was before you put the jelly on it, Sonic, an' it smells _real_ good an'…an' I wanna eat it 'cause I'm hungry," Tails finished plaintively.

Sonic held out for a few more seconds before relenting. Teasing Tails like this was fun, but it was also a little too reminiscent of what the little fox had undergone at the hands of bullies in Emerald Hill Zone, and the last thing Sonic wanted was to remind him of that.

"Okay, here." He passed the bark over to Tails, who seized it and gulped it down in two bites, licking his lips afterwards.

It took three more pieces and all of the crowberries before Tails finally pronounced himself stuffed, and by that time there was nothing left for Sonic. Briefly the hedgehog entertained the idea of going out and fetching some more food, then rejected it. Growing up on a tropical island meant that the biting cold of this icy Zone was affecting him far worse than Mobians from more temperate climes. All he wanted right then was to get out, and quickly.

It was with that in mind that he and Tails clambered up to the next ledge and headed for what looked like a platform. The links on the chains suspending it on either side from the ceiling were large enough to fit through (and Tails, who was considerably smaller than Sonic, amused himself by doing just that, weaving in and out of the holes until Sonic felt dizzy).

The only question was, how did it work? Sonic examined it from all angles, even getting Tails to fly underneath and check for switches, but found nothing.

_Did_ it even work? The shield monitors Sonic had discovered on the island had been overgrown and taken a lot of effort to activate, leading the hedgehog to believe that they were the remnants of some ancient civilisation. Maybe the mechanism on this platform had simply worn away over time.

He craned his neck back, peering up towards the ceiling. He couldn't see anything up there, but he thought he could probably climb one of the chains without too much difficulty.

It was an odd design though, the hedgehog mused as he studied it more closely. He was even less of an engineer than he was a scientist, but hanging around with Tails meant he'd picked up a few things. The chains were attached on either side by bolts, which was fine except that if you didn't balance on this thing _exactly_, it would probably tip over. It was like some kind of giant swing.

_A swing_.

Sonic held his breath. The far wall was _very_ far away; maybe this had been designed to swing right out or even _up_…

There was only one way to find out. Hoping that he wasn't about to make a big mistake, Sonic beckoned to Tails.

"Tails? C'mon down here a minute."

Tails zipped down obediently, landing next to the hedgehog with a bump that vibrated the whole platform.

"Yup?"

"Hang on to this very tightly," Sonic instructed, wrapping Tails' fingers around the platform's railing. "Whatever happens, don't let go."

The little fox twisted around to look up at him beseechingly. "But Sonic, s'pose the chain breaks an' this thing falls to the bottom an' I hit my head on the rock an' all my brains squeegle out?"

Sonic felt a little queasy. "Well…yeah, okay, you can let go then, squirt."

"Okay!" Reassured, Tails gripped the railing tightly and Sonic turned, jogging away to the far edge.

The hedgehog spun around when he got there, preparing himself, then broke into a sprint.

He cannoned into the edge of the platform at close on a hundred and twenty miles per hour. To his relief, it held firm as the whole thing swung upwards on a perfect arc, pausing briefly some three feet below another ledge. Grabbing Tails, Sonic leapt for it, skidding on the ice and eventually coming to a stop on his back. Pushing himself to his feet, he picked his way carefully back to the edge just in time to see the platform crash against the spot they'd just left with an impact that made snow crystals vibrate across the floor by Sonic's foot.

The hedgehog shivered; he was glad to have escaped _that_ impact, at any rate.

Tails scrambled to his feet and beamed up at his hero.

"That was _cool_, Sonic! Let's do it again!"

"No!" Sonic said sharply, as Tails made a beeline for the edge, namesakes already whirring. "We gotta keep going."

"But—"

"No buts, squirt. We still gotta find Robotnik, remember?" Although Sonic usually balked at using the prospect of a fight with Robotnik as an incentive, there was no denying it was effective; Tails reversed direction so rapidly he caught an unsuspecting Sonic off guard and sent him staggering.

Regaining his footing with difficulty – this patch really _was_ icy – Sonic started walking deeper into the maze, Tails scampering alongside. The path they were on was sloping down, something that worried Sonic slightly; he wanted to get out of this place, not go further in.

He'd just started to wonder if Robotnik hadn't got around to roboticising this Zone (or more likely, hadn't found anyone or anything _to_ roboticise) when the icy ceiling above his head cracked open and a robotic penguin dropped out and slid towards them on its belly.

It was only Tails' yelp of surprise that saved him; Sonic leapt up reflexively and the penguin with its razor sharp beak and feathers slid harmlessly underneath him. The hedgehog barely had time to register its presence before Tails had hurtled past and jumped on the robot hard with both feet, shattering it and releasing the animal inside.

It was, appropriately enough, another penguin. Unlike the one in the orbinaut, this one was fully grown. It squawked at Sonic, clattered its beak at Tails and without another sound turned and threw itself onto its belly, sliding down the icy slope and zooming out of sight.

"Sonic?"

"Yeah, lil buddy?"

Tails clung to the hedgehog's hand as they picked their way carefully down the steep decline. "Was that big penguin the little penguin's daddy? You know, the baby penguin that came out when you whumped that ball bot?"

Sonic glanced down and grinned. "Yeah, squirt. I'm sure he was."

Tails blew out a huge sigh of relief. "That's good, 'cause the big one'll look after the little one, right Sonic? Right?"

"Yeah, I'm sure he will," Sonic said again. He knew nothing about penguins except they lived in huge colonies, so they _had_ to look out for each other, right? Quite how the small penguin from the orbinaut was supposed to catch up to the big one, Sonic didn't know, but he supposed it'd find a way.

The slope petered out after a few hundred yards to form a roundish ledge that dropped into another decline that was smooth and almost vertical. Looking at the opposite wall, Sonic could see it dropped in much the same way. There was no chance he could leap across and climb down from there.

Several rocks were scattered around the ledge. The sight was unusual enough – the ice tunnels and ledges had at least been reasonably clear – but Sonic's gaze was drawn to one in particular. Almost perfectly round, it was a little under three feet in diameter and oddly smooth on top.

"Tails?"

"Yup?"

"If I go down this slope, can you fly after me? Just in case I slip?"

The little fox's face lit up jubilantly. "You betcha!"

"Okay." Sonic studied the rock curiously, circling it. It _looked_ about the right shape, and it would probably be much easier than trying to run down himself.

Pushing the rock towards the slope hard enough to get it going (something made easier by the icy floor) he jumped on and leaned forward, clinging on with both hands and hooking his feet over the edges for good measure as the makeshift sled picked up speed. It reminded him of a video game he'd once played, where the character had to surf down an erupting volcano on a board of solidified lava. Of course, _that_ character had stood up boldly, as though he was doing nothing more exciting than surf on a beach.

As Sonic's own makeshift board slammed into the opposite slope and rode up it for several feet before gravity took over and sent it sliding back down again, the hedgehog thought rather bitterly that any game designer who thought looking cool under these circumstances was _easy_ had obviously never tried it. And that they should, at the earliest opportunity.

One thing was for damn sure, Sonic thought as the rock whammed into another slope, if the designers responsible for his games ever put this into one of them, they probably wouldn't show him spreadeagled flat on his belly and clinging on for dear life when riding the rock.

Chances are they wouldn't show his less than dignified exit either; the rock ploughed through three ice walls in a row and finally exploded out of the side of the glacier, spun over and dropped Sonic headfirst into a snowdrift, leaving only his sneakers sticking out.

Wriggling free, Sonic dusted himself off, thankful that he'd managed to do both before Tails flew down to join him.

They were _out_. Sonic knew it wouldn't last long, that this was only a small crevasse in the mountains that was blocked at one end by rock and the other by water, but still…they were _out_!

Their trip through the ice had taken longer than Sonic had anticipated too; it was fully dark now. The moons reflected off huge chunks of ice that floated serenely through freezing water, which looked almost black in the night air. The adult penguin Sonic and Tails had saved back in the tunnel was lying on one of the ice chunks, sleeping. It looked almost comically lonely.

Something delicate and feathery touched Sonic's snout and he shivered. It was snowing now, snowing in large clumps made of several flakes stuck together.

"I'm cold," Tails complained.

Sonic barely heard him. Cold, yes, but this place was _beautiful_. Quiet, tranquil, so peaceful…standing here and looking up at the stars, Sonic could almost pretend he'd never heard of Robotnik, had never been sucked into this damn fight.

The pretence didn't last long, however, as a humming sound announced the arrival of a large robot that looked a little like a giant orbinaut. The resemblance became even more apparent as huge, ice-covered rocks of varying sizes – the smallest of which was at least as big as Sonic – rose into the air and started spinning around the machine at different angles so fast they were almost a blur. It was like watching a caffeinated atom.

Sonic backed away. The speed of the orbit was creating a small vacuum now, not strong enough to suck him in, but strong enough to be noticed.

Abruptly, the rocks soared into the air as the robot cut the gravitational field. The stones hung in midair forty feet above Sonic and Tails' heads, suspended for what seemed like forever before they started to fall.

Watching the impromptu avalanche, Sonic swallowed hard.

"Uh oh."

"Sonic?"

"_Run_!" Sonic grabbed Tails and bolted for the relative shelter of an iceberg, crouching against it, hoping to shield the little fox with his body.

The rocks hit the ground so hard the hedgehog felt each individual impact. One particularly large stone bounced up again and flew through the air into the iceberg, smashing the top to pieces.

Hard chunks of ice rained down on Sonic, who winced. They couldn't hope to get away with hiding like this too much.

Emerging from his shattered refuge, Sonic raced towards the robot. Without the rocks surrounding it, it was vulnerable. If he could destroy it…

Too late, he felt the suction as the machine dragged the rocks back up and into orbit. Something about this thing reminded him a little of Robotnik's Eggsploder back in Metropolis Zone, except that machine had fired bombs at him one at a time, not all at once.

Sonic leapt for the machine, but he knew even before he took off that it was a wasted effort. Robotnik had learned from past mistakes; the robot was too high for Sonic to get to.

"Hang on!" Tails swooped down to grab the hedgehog, but Sonic fielded him neatly out of the air and pushed him into a snowdrift, out of harm's way.

"_No_! You stay down there; I don't want you getting hurt!"

Tails felt that this was a bit rich coming from someone who had just slam-dunked him into four feet of snow, but something in Sonic's expression convinced him not to argue.

Sonic dodged another hail of rocks, barely managing to dart out the way as they rose back up.

_Great. Now what?_ He couldn't reach the machine...maybe if he could somehow yank the rocks away from it, he'd stand a better chance.

Sonic leapt into the air, seizing one of the rocks as it swooped underneath the machine and yanking hard, an action that had no effect except to almost dislocate both shoulders. Dropping to the ground, he darted behind the same rock Tails was using, mind racing frantically. If the rocks' orbit was so strong that he couldn't break it, how the hell was he supposed to do this?

An idea struck the hedgehog, one that verged on suicidal and reckless even by his standards. He didn't know if it would work, but it was worth a try.

"Tails? Let me have that diamond."

Tails pulled out the large jewel and handed it to Sonic without question. The hedgehog caught it neatly, testing the weight of it, turning his plan over in his mind, searching for flaws.

There were a few too many for his liking, but he didn't have time to iron out all the little bugs. He'd just have to do it and trust to luck.

Pushing himself to his feet, Sonic jogged out into the clearing and paused in the middle of it, a tempting target, heart hammering in his chest.

Just as he expected, the robot saw (_detected? registered?_) him and promptly flung the orbiting rocks into the air. Sonic dodged as they came crashing down – that part was easy – and stood there by one rock in particular, waiting.

It shuddered and lifted into the air to return to its orbit with the others. Lunging, Sonic caught hold of it and hung on grimly as it ascended, carrying him up to the robot. As soon as it was over the top, Sonic let go and dropped onto the machine, diamond in his hand. Without pausing, he brought the spiked jewel up and rammed it down into the metal carapace with all his strength.

The explosion not only took out the robot; it blasted Sonic off the device and into the side of the mountain. The hedgehog's last conscious thought was, _Jeez, you'd think I'd learn, wouldn't you?_

Then everything went dark.

**Heh. So…the next half of Ice Cap Zone (along with Robotnik) should be up fairly soon. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this one and if you read, please review!**


	11. Ice Cap Zone Act Two

**This would have been up much earlier today, except I started playing Ice Cap Zone to check on something and got a little carried away :P**

**Ippiki Ookami no Kage: Yep, this story's going to be a long one alright, though the Sonic 3 half's very nearly over ;) And thanks, glad you liked it!**

**Miles Prower Fam: Of course I'm going to carry on the fanfic ;) And as requested, here is more :P

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"Sonic?"

The voice was tinny, distorted and seemed to be coming from a long way away. It sounded vaguely familiar…

Sonic took a groggy swipe in the voice's direction. "Five mo' min'tes…"

Someone was shaking him now, hard. "C'mon Sonic, _please_ wake up!"

The hedgehog forced his eyes open and managed to lift his head just enough to look around him.

He was surrounded by whiteness. That wasn't right. His bedroom wasn't supposed to be white; it was green.

Come to think of it, he didn't remember his bedroom being this _cold_, either!

A small hand hooked itself under Sonic's bad arm and pulled hard. The pain was enough to wake the hedgehog up fully and remind him of a) where he was and b) how he'd come to be there in the first place.

Shaking off a light coating of snow that had fallen to cover him, Sonic staggered to his feet, mentally promising himself that no matter what Robotnik was planning, he was never, _ever_ going to follow him into another snow-filled Zone.

Satisfied that Sonic was up and awake, Tails released him and scampered off to a mound of snow. The little fox had clearly been at it for some time; the snow around was marred by several scrape marks where he'd gathered it in handfuls.

Sonic tilted his head on one side as he watched the little fox building busily.

"Whatcha doing, squirt?"

Tails held up both hands in a TV screen as he scrutinised his creation, little tongue sticking out in concentration.

"Making a snow hedgehog!"

"A snow hedgehog, huh?"

"Yup, 'cause I had _loadsa_ snow hedgehogs around my cave to guard it!" Tails frowned at the snow hedgehog. "D'you have a real big rock I c'n have for the nose?"

"A rock?" Sonic turned and started to dig obligingly, pawing through the snow and eventually locating a small pebble. "How's this?"

Tails studied it, then shook his head. "Nuh uh! It's not pointy like yours, Sonic."

The hedgehog planted both hands on his hips and fixed the little fox with a mock-stern look. "My nose is not pointy!"

Tails giggled. "Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too times a million!"

"Is not times infinity," Sonic countered, grinning.

Tails opened his mouth, then frowned. "What's idfility, Sonic?"

"Never mind." Sonic glanced at the snowy panorama surrounding them on all sides and shivered. He'd known about snow in a purely academic sense – it was cold, white, fluffy and you could throw it at people – but this place was his first real encounter with it on a daily basis.

Giving up on pointy rocks for the minute, Tails flew up and broke off an icicle instead, ramming it into the top part of the mound (even by snowman standards, it couldn't realistically be called a _head_). Standing back, he admired this masterpiece for a few seconds, then trotted over to Sonic's side.

"Are we gonna go back inside the ice now, Sonic?"

Sonic didn't answer. He didn't much like the idea of going back inside the glacier. For one thing, they'd only just escaped it and for another, it was getting dark. Fumbling your way through an ice maze was bad enough, but to do it _blind_...

The worst of it was that he could _see_ another way for them to go in the form of a ledge above their heads. He just had no idea how to get there. It was too far for Tails to fly him up and too high for Sonic to jump. The only alternative, as far as the hedgehog could see, was a steep slope downwards that culminated in a sheer drop at the far end. Sonic was sure the drop was survivable (especially with Tails' help) but he didn't relish the thought. Plus there were some nasty looking rocks just underneath the higher ledge; if they crashed into those...Sonic shivered.

"Sonic?"

Glad of the distraction, Sonic glanced at Tails with a grin. "What's up, lil bro?"

Tails fixed him with the curious expression the hedgehog had already learned to dread. "What's the worst thing you ever did?"

Sonic blinked, looking away as memories of Kintobor and rotten eggs danced across his mind.

"What makes you ask that?" he said carefully.

"Jus' curious. 'Cause...if you're _not_ a superhero like you say you're not, you must've done naughty stuff an' I wanna know what!"

A gleam appeared in Sonic's eyes. "Well...I did break a window when I was seven."

Tails' eyes grew huge. "You _did_? How'd you break a window? Why'd you break it?"

"Yes, I did; I threw myself through it; and because I'd been grounded for a few days and was getting serious cabin fever."

"What's cabin fever?"

"Means I was bored outta my brains." Sonic glanced up at the ledge again. It was worth an ask..."Tails, do you think you could fly me up there?"

"Oh sure!" Tails swooped down and grabbed Sonic under the arms, then hauled him into the air.

"This isn't working," Sonic stated, after the third attempt.

"Sure it is! I jus' gotta spin my tails...real..._fast_..." Tails was gasping for breath now and despite his best efforts, had to lower Sonic gently to the ground. The hedgehog didn't exactly mind this – it was a nice change from the last two times when Tails had dropped him like a stone – but it still left them with the problem of how to proceed.

It took the rest of the morning for Sonic to figure out a solution, and then it was only the sight of Tails sledding down the slope on both namesakes that gave it to him. It was reckless, it was suicidal, it was...come to think of it, it was pretty much like everything else he'd done on this hell of an island so far.

"Tails!"

The little fox spun around mid-sled at the sound of Sonic's voice, tumbled head over heels and wound up in a snowdrift with just one foot sticking out. Undeterred, he scrambled out the snow and flew back up to join Sonic.

"Hi Sonic!"

Sonic grinned down at him. "Hey there, lil bro. Think you can do me a favour?"

Tails' chest inflated rapidly. "Sure!"

"You know your ramp?" Sonic nodded towards the ramp in question. Tails had built it from snow which he'd packed solidly around several rocks at the bottom of the slope. It had originally been there to stop the little fox from flying off the edge, but Tails had rapidly discovered that sledding up and down it and flying off it into the air was much more fun, and had increased the size accordingly.

"Yup?"

"Mind if you let me have a go?"

Tails' face lit up. "Nuh uh! You _go_, Sonic!"

Sonic stared down at the ramp and swallowed hard.

_I must be out of my mind_.

There were a hundred and one things that could go wrong. If the angle was too shallow, he would effectively blast himself into a rock wall at high speeds. Too steep and he'd end up slingshotting himself back the way he'd come, to roll down and do it over and over and over...actually, that sounded kinda fun, now that he thought about it.

The hedgehog swallowed again.

_Here goes nothing..._

Tucking himself into a ball, he started to roll down the slope, picking up speed until he felt himself hit the ramp and soar into the air. There was a brief period of weightlessness followed by the now too familiar sensation of ending up head first in a snowdrift as he landed on the high ledge.

It was better than he'd expected. He was standing on the edge of the mountain, on the very ledge he'd seen from further down, only up here he could see that it stretched out into the distance, serving as a kind of track over the mountain. With a bit of luck, they might be able to follow it right the way out.

Glass columns mounted by huge geometric shapes framed the path at regular intervals. Inside, Sonic could see what looked like magenta pistons on a shaft. Nothing was moving and no amount of pushing, prodding or kicking on his part helped. Whatever these columns had been designed to do, they clearly weren't doing it anymore.

Frowning slightly, Sonic drew back.

_First those gardens, then that underwater city, then the casino, and now this._ It was like a ghost island, full of technology that nobody knew how to use. Whatever civilisation had built this, it wasn't like anything Sonic had encountered on Mobius before. Something inside told the hedgehog that the engineers were long gone.

Sonic kept moving, Tails scampering around him, kicking up snow crystals for the fun of it and occasionally throwing snowballs at Sonic whenever he thought the hedgehog wasn't looking. They continued on in silence (excluding Tails' triumphant yelps along the lines of "HA! Gotcha _again_, Sonic!") until the path they were following culminated in a bridge that glittered in the sun.

A bridge made of ice blocks? Curious, Sonic reached down and touched it, then frowned. It was cold, sure, but not _that_ cold. Crystal? Well, that was better, since he could run across as fast as he liked without melting it.

Sonic stepped onto the bridge. It gave a little under his weight, but held firm.

"_Cool_!" Unfazed by the thought that it could collapse under him and dump him (and Sonic) down a thousand foot drop, Tails hurtled across so fast he knocked Sonic off balance.

Grabbing onto the bridge, the hedgehog clung tightly for a few seconds before managing to haul himself back onto it and stand upright while an oblivious Tails raced on.

Sonic spotted the glint of metal just in time and broke into a run.

"_Tails, freeze!_"

Tails, who was still too far ahead to hear Sonic clearly, stopped and glanced back at the hedgehog perplexedly, just as a cloud of gas blew out of the metal not six inches in front of him.

"WHAT?"

When Sonic didn't answer immediately, Tails turned and scampered on ahead. The gas had cleared again and the little fox was none the wiser about his narrow escape.

Sonic let out his breath with a _whoosh_, watching as it condensed in front of him. That was close. Too close.

Bending down, he picked up a rock and approached the nozzle warily, then waited for the gas to blast out again and tossed the rock into it. There was a lot of hissing, and when the air cleared the rock rolled down to Sonic's foot, encased in some four inches' worth of ice.

The hedgehog stared at it for what felt like a long time. Freezing...that wasn't like Robotnik. The doctor had always preferred the personal touch (or at least the robotic one) when it came to killing. Was this really Robotnik's work, or was it some form of defence mechanism by the same sick minds who had thought up that damn wall back in the water city?

"_Sonic_!"

The sound of Tails' voice jerked Sonic out of his thoughts and he sped towards the little fox, grateful for the distraction.

"What's up, squirt?"

But he could already see what was up. The path had reached a dead end, and this time it was too level for Sonic to fling himself up using another ramp.

"What we gonna do, Sonic?" Tails asked. He was shivering now; it was getting on for late afternoon and the temperature was dropping rapidly.

There was only one thing they _could_ do, Sonic thought bitterly, and he didn't think he was going to like it.

Positioning Tails against the far cliff with instructions not to move no matter _what_ he saw, Sonic hunted about until he thought he'd found the shortest way down and started to burrow into it.

His mind had barely registered the fact that he was through when his body, which was a little faster to react to danger, swung him sideways out of the tunnel just as ice gas erupted in the spot where he'd been hanging seconds before.

There was a brief period of weightlessness, and then Sonic hit the ground hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.

_Could've been worse_, a little voice inside whispered. _You could've landed in that._

'That' was a vast lake of water, too dark to see the bottom, which stretched out in front of them. Sonic would have bet every last Mobium he had that if he hadn't had to dodge the gas, he'd have landed in that water and been on the way to the bottom by now.

Forcing himself to his feet, Sonic studied the water suspiciously, as though convinced it was about to leap up and attack him. Small islets were dotted across the surface, islets that Sonic thought could probably act as stepping stones if you could jump.

And if you don't slip on the ice and fall in, right Sonic? 

The hedgehog shivered. A lake as deep as that…even if there was a way to get back to the surface from the bottom, he thought he'd probably be dead long before he reached it.

"_Wow_!" Before Sonic had a chance to react, Tails, who had flown down the shaft Sonic had just created, twined both namesakes together in midair and cannonballed into the water.

"_Tails_!" Sonic hurtled forward, stopping on the very edge. He wasn't afraid of Tails' drowning – the little fox was a good swimmer – but even without going into water, he knew about the chill factor in these temperatures. Even Tails' fur wouldn't be enough to protect him from hypothermia in that water; he had to try and get him out.

Taking a long, deep breath, trying to convince himself that this was right, that he wasn't crazy, Sonic braced himself for the cold and leaned over to dip one hand gingerly into the water.

It was _hot_.

Sonic had never heard of hot springs, otherwise he might have been a little less wary. As it was, he yanked his hand out and scrambled back, staring at it. Was this another trap? Had Robotnik or that other guy rigged it to boil as soon as he got in? It hadn't boiled Tails, but maybe Tails wasn't the target.

Speaking of which, where the hell _was_ Tails anyway? The little fox could hold his breath for a long time, but _this_ long?

Tails had been facing the other side of the lake when he landed, Sonic reasoned. Maybe he'd just kept swimming that way.

He turned his back, walking away in preparation for a good long run up. If he could get to the other side via the islets, then maybe—

"_Hey Sonic! Lookit what I got_!"

Sonic spun around. "Huh? Wha—"

Something hard and ridged hit him full in the snout, knocking him onto his backside in the snow.

Dazed, the hedgehog reached out and fumbled around until he located the object.

"A Chaos Emerald? How—"

Tails dived down again, tackling the hedgehog around the chest and sending him sprawling again.

"I got it, Sonic! There was one a those big giant ring thingies an' I _got_ it!"

"A ring?" Sonic sat up again, more carefully this time. "Where?"

Tails wriggled delightedly. "Underwater! 'Cause I dived in an' swimmed all the way to the other side of the lake an' there was a cave there an' a giant ring so I swimmed through an' got the Em'rald!" Beaming, he sat back on his haunches, both namesakes wagging eagerly.

"You did, huh?" Sonic studied the Emerald in question; the red one. Grinning broadly, he reached down to ruffle Tails' head fur. "Nice job, lil bro! That just leaves one more."

"_Yeah_!" Tails bounced onto his feet again, seizing Sonic and hauling him upright. "An' we're gonna get it, right?"

"You betcha, buddy." Sonic glanced at the lake and quailed inwardly. Of course, there were drawbacks to everything...

Taking a deep breath, he raced to the edge of the water and leapt, landing squarely on one of the islets. It started to sink under his weight and he bounded forward instinctively, jumping to the next and from there to the next.

It seemed far too long to Sonic before he landed on solid ground again. Next to him, Tails – who had chosen to swim across – clambered out of the water and shook himself dry with an expression that Sonic rather sourly described to himself as _malicious glee_. Before the little fox had a chance to start his usual _why don't you learn to swim_ line of questioning, Sonic had set off for the edge.

When he got there, he found it wasn't what he'd expected. Instead of the steep slope or rocks or even those swinging platforms, there was what looked like a squat purple cylinder suspended by green rings on either side. Sonic considered for a few seconds, then shrugged. It didn't seem dangerous, and so he jumped onto it.

The platform dipped down alarmingly, then just as suddenly started to ascend, reaching its apex with enough force to fling Sonic ten feet into the air.

Sonic laughed aloud. This was fun; like being on a giant trampoline.

Bending his knees, he leapt onto another of the purple platforms, slipping slightly as he landed. This one fired him out the top of the glacier to land on a snow-covered plateau that was so high up Sonic's lungs were starting to protest.

Looking around, he saw something that made his heart leap and he turned.

"TAILS!"

The little fox, who had done his best to follow Sonic's progress up and down and only succeeded in making himself dizzy, landed next to him, panting.

"Sonic?" Tails' voice was tiny. "Sonic...I can't breathe."

Sonic dropped to one knee in front of the little fox. "It'll pass, squirt. We'll be out of here soon, I promise. Look over there."

He pointed and Tails followed his finger obediently, then the little fox's eyes grew huge.

"I can see the sea, Sonic!"

"Me too, lil bro. You know what that means?"

"We can go swimming?"

"Nice try, buddy. It means we're almost out of the mountains. And see those things around the sea, with those lights?" When Tails nodded, Sonic added, "I bet that's a city."

Tails' face lit up. "Does that mean we can eat?"

"When we get down there, sure."

Tails wasn't the only one who was ravenously hungry either, Sonic thought. They hadn't eaten since the berries, and that had been some time ago. He and Tails had been eating snow to stop themselves becoming dehydrated, but it didn't do much to ease the savage hunger pangs. And even if these people didn't take Mobiums, Sonic would get Tails food if he had to spend the rest of the month washing dishes to pay for it.

It was starting to snow again, this time with flakes the size of grapes. There was no wind up here, and Sonic felt oddly isolated, cut off from the rest of the world. It seemed to him that he'd spent his entire life here, with past events no more than a vague dream.

Craning his head back, he looked up at the sky. The sight of snow as seen from underneath was strangely hypnotic…

"Good evening, Sonic."

_That_, on the other hand, wasn't. Sonic snapped out of his trance and spun, coming face to face with Robotnik's Egg-O-Matic.

"Didn't think you'd come all the way up here, doc," Sonic remarked, shivering now. "Then again, I guess someone with your amount of protective blubber ought to be right at home here."

Unnervingly, Robotnik smiled. "That's hardly the way to speak to someone who saved your life, Sonic."

Sonic blinked. "Say _what_?"

The doctor chuckled. He supposed he should just hurry up and finish Sonic, but he'd lost the advantage of surprise, and this fight would play out how it would play out, regardless of whether he attacked now or ten minutes later.

"Well, how many mountains have _you_ come across where there's a snowboard just _sitting_ there waiting to be used, hmm?"

Sonic stared at him, realisation dawning. "That was _you_?"

"Oh yes. I had to do some very fast calculations to work out exactly where you were going to land, but I see they paid off."

"You're lying!" Tails glared at Robotnik, although recent events ensured he kept a respectful distance from the doctor's machine. "You wouldn't do _anything_ to save Sonic, ol' Robotnik, not _never_!"

Robotnik smiled. "Well, I can't say I blame you for holding that opinion, cub. But if you don't believe I have the hedgehog's best interests at heart for the present, then you should at least believe that I want the pleasure of killing him myself. And speaking of such things, Sonic, allow me to introduce you to my Egglaciator."

As Sonic watched, the bottom part of the machine shunted downwards, forming a spiked platform at the base. Since the hedgehog found it very hard to believe that Robotnik would have put such a thing in just, as Tails would say, to make it easier to whump him, Sonic kept a wary distance.

Besides the platform, he couldn't see anything else different about the Egglaciator except for a gold coloured tank and various gold pipes on the outside.

Even as he watched, Tails raced forward, small fists raised, and even Sonic was barely fast enough to knock the little fox out the way as freezing gas spurted out of a nozzle above the platform.

Shivering violently, Sonic stared up at the doctor.

"So you did rig those gas nozzles."

Robotnik grinned evilly. "Oh no, Sonic; those have been around for centuries. But I won't deny that they served as the inspiration for this little device."

"Yeah?" Thrusting Tails to one side, Sonic bounded to his feet. "Let's see how cocky you are without _this_!"

Leaping into the air, he curled over and spun forward, slicing through the platform before Robotnik had a chance to register the fact that Sonic had even moved, much less defend himself.

Worryingly, the doctor grinned broadly. "More so than you might think, Sonic."

Adjusting the Egglaciator's controls, he brought it down so fast that at first the hedgehog thought Robotnik must be having difficulties, until he saw Tails pinned to the ground by the gas nozzle.

"No!" Sonic's heart stood still. He couldn't be..._surely_ Robotnik wouldn't...

_But he would_, a voice inside said. _You knew he would when he shot Tails down outside his Wing Fortress six months ago. There's no second chances with this guy; you know that._

Like Sonic, Tails – who had been preparing himself to follow his hero and attack the machine – hadn't realised what was happening until it was too late. The gas nozzle ground into his chest, not quite breaking the skin but hard enough to ensure he couldn't wriggle free.

"Get away from him!" Sonic lunged forward, but came up short as a small puff of ice gas jetted out from the underside, dispersing before it could reach Tails.

Robotnik chuckled. "Not so brave now, are you? Move so much as a muscle, Sonic, and he's dead. Even if you do attack before I can freeze this little freak, the machine will most likely fall and crush him."

"Let him go." Sonic was pale, sweating. "It's me you want, Robotnik, not Tails."

The doctor smirked. "You're in luck, Sonic. You caught me in a very generous mood, so I'll offer you a deal. Give me the Chaos Emeralds, and maybe I'll let you and your little pet fox live."

Sonic stared at the doctor. "What Chaos Emeralds? What are you talking about? That guy, that red guy we met when we arrived; he took the Emeralds for himself. You'd do better asking him."

Robotnik chuckled again. "Oh, come now, Sonic. Let's not play games. We both know that you'd stop at nothing to get those Emeralds, one of the very few things we have in common, and if that's not enough I saw you get the purple Emerald with my own eyes."

"Ha!" Defiant even in the face of certain death, Tails glowered at Robotnik, or at least the underside of his vehicle. "That's where you're _wrong_, ol' Robotnik, 'cause the purple Em'rald's the on'y one Sonic doesn't have yet!"

_I really am going to have to buy a gag for that fox_, Sonic thought grimly. Fixing Robotnik with his best appealing look, he said, "Okay. Okay, fine. Can't blame a guy for trying, right? But the Emeralds are in my quills. If you want them, you're gonna have to let me move enough to get 'em for you."

Robotnik sneered. "How stupid do you think I am, Sonic? You think I would trust you not to destroy my Egglaciator?"

"You got Tails, don't you? We'll do this your way, doc, but if you hurt Tails you'll never get those Emeralds."

The doctor smiled broadly. "Very well, Sonic. But if I see either of your feet so much as twitch, you'll be down a sidekick and I'll be up one ice sculpture."

Sonic reached behind him. There was no doubt in his mind what he was going to do; the Chaos Emeralds weren't worth losing Tails over, and Robotnik wouldn't get _all _of them. Sonic wasn't naïve enough to believe that the doctor would hold up his end of the bargain, but if he could just put the Emerald somewhere so that Robotnik would have to move, he might be able to save Tails.

Instead of an Emerald, however, Sonic's questing fingers found the diamond that Tails had taken from the orbinaut, and the hedgehog felt two and two crash together in his mind with sudden clarity.

"You want it?" Careful not to dislodge any of the real Emeralds, Sonic pulled out the diamond, keeping it behind his back. "Here."

Bringing it around, he angled it into the sun, mirroring the rays straight into Robotnik's eyes. The doctor jerked away reflexively and in that short space of time, Sonic had hurtled forward and spun through the Egglaciator to the other side. Whirling, he seized Tails and bolted with him out of harm's way.

Robotnik felt a sudden draft on his leg as almost half his ship fell away to land hissing and sparking in the snow. Acting on impulse, still blinking furiously to try and clear his vision, he threw the machine into reverse, dodging Sonic's second attack by pure luck and swerving wildly out over the mountains.

Abandoning Robotnik, Sonic hurtled back to where Tails was curled up and whimpering softly. Kneeling down next to him, the hedgehog put a gentle hand on the little fox's shoulder.

"Are you okay, squirt?"

Tails stared up at him with huge eyes, then abruptly launched himself forward and buried his face in Sonic's chest, body shaking.

"Okay, buddy. Okay." Sonic hugged the little fox close, rocking him, and waited until Tails was calmer before saying, "C'mon. Let's see if we can find a Prison Egg, huh? There's gotta be one around here somewhere."

Tails hiccupped twice, then nodded and scrambled to his feet, although he refused to let go of Sonic's hand.

In spite of Sonic's words it took a few minutes for them to find the Prison Egg in question; Robotnik had stashed it at the base of the mountain and Tails had to fly Sonic down in stages.

Destroying the Prison released another horde of feral penguins and seals, although as far as Sonic was concerned this was no great surprise. By now he was firmly convinced that no sentient Mobian could possibly make their home in this frozen wasteland.

"We gonna follow ol' Robotnik, Sonic?" Tails said, in a more subdued tone than normal. It was one thing to take on Robotnik and be a hero when you didn't get hurt; it was quite another when you'd been literally inches from death.

"Yeah, you betcha." It was almost the truth, too, Sonic allowed; it was a good bet that Robotnik would want to get back to his base as soon as possible, and it was an equally good bet that the base in question wasn't around here.

Well, there was no way he was going back into that ice maze inside the glaciers again, Sonic thought determinedly.It could take them days to find the way out.

Glancing down at Tails, Sonic winked.

"Follow me, lil bro."

Taking a long run, he curled over and spindashed into the side of the mountain, ploughing through the rock, always going in the same direction. He didn't know how long it took – except that it was long enough for him to start getting tired – but Sonic continued tunnelling until finally he and Tails burst out of the tunnel into brilliant sunshine.

**Okay, next Zone is one of my all time favourite Sonic Zones; Launch Base :P Hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you read, please review! Happy Christmas everyone!**


	12. Preparations

**AN: Yeah, I'm bringing the public 'reply to review' back ;) It didn't seem fair publicly thanking anonymous reviewers and privately thanking others, if that makes sense (to be more specific, it seemed to go down like a lead balloon XD) So here goes:**

**D.C.111: Heh, yeah, I can't believe we're onto Launch Base already...at the halfway point of this adaptation :(**

**Ippiki Ookami no Kage: Thanks :D There will be parts in future chapters that focus more on Tails than Sonic...**

**Ember Rock: (blushes) Wow, thanks :) As for Robotnik's dark glasses...all will be explained in this chapter. Well, not all, but that part will ;)**

**Miles Prower Fan: (blushes some more) Thanks, I'm glad you like it, and I'll do my best :)**

**Chibi-Cougar: Of course I continued; I wouldn't leave you hanging in the lurch like that ;)**

**Taranea: Thanks :) And no worries; I will definitely keep going all the time people are reviewing :P**

**SexyShadowGirl: Heh, thanks ;) Description's kind of my weak point, so I'm glad it's working!

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"That," Knuckles stated with unusual calmness, "was rather pathetic."

"The sun was in my eyes," Robotnik answered through clenched teeth.

"Only because that hedgehog's smarter than you seem to think. Just what's the point of those dark glasses you wear if they can't protect you from something like that?"

The doctor emerged from underneath his Egg-O-Matic long enough to glare at the echidna. "The hedgehog caught me off guard, and there are no dark glasses powerful enough to deflect the sun's rays entirely. My sight may have been protected, but that doesn't mean I can look directly at the sun without blinking."

"Whatever. Face it; that hedgehog has a defence for everything you've thrown at him."

"You haven't been any more successful than I have," Robotnik pointed out.

"I beg to differ, creature. It was me who took the Chaos Emeralds off him, it was me who dropped him into Hydrocity, and it was me who almost drowned him in Carnival Night Zone."

Clambering into his now mostly repaired Egg-O-Matic, Robotnik answered, "Yes, but _almost_ doesn't cut it, Guardian. How many times do you think I've _almost_ stopped Sonic?" Reaching down, he fumbled at the ignition and then frowned at it, perplexed.

"Looking for this?" Knuckles held up the key.

Robotnik snatched for it, but the echidna jerked out of reach.

"Not so fast. First you can tell me everything you know about what happened here."

"Meaning...?" Robotnik's voice was icily polite, and Knuckles matched the tone perfectly as he toyed with the key.

"Why did Sonic release the creatures that you claim he locked up? Why was he prepared to surrender everything just to save a kid that you say he doesn't care about? Why were you trying to kill that kid in the first place, if you're the good guy in all this?" Knuckles' voice rose slightly. "And _where_ did that snowboard come from?"

Robotnik fell silent, mind whirring. He hadn't realised the echidna had been following him, hadn't banked on Knuckles knowing or even being able to figure out this much.

_Stupid_, he berated himself. He _knew_ echidnas, knew that what they may lack in sparkling intelligence they more than made up for in paranoia and sheer bloody-mindedness, even though Knuckles seemed to be smarter than most. Robotnik supposed being Guardian of the Master Emerald could do that, although as far as he could tell, the echidna had only got that job because there was nobody else to do it.

"I'm waiting." Knuckles' voice was cool, controlled again. "You got one minute, creature, and then I'll throw this over the mountain." He held up the key, dangling it off one namesake.

"Knuckles, I really must protest at this—"

"Forty five seconds."

"If you think I'm going to be forced into selling out the secrets of my—"

"Thirty seconds."

Robotnik swallowed, something which didn't go unnoticed by Knuckles. Although the echidna having the key was more an inconvenience than anything – the doctor was more than capable of hotwiring his Egg-O-Matic should the need arise – Robotnik didn't want Knuckles for an enemy just yet.

"Ten seconds and counting, creature."

"Alright!" Robotnik held up both hands in the classic sign of parley. "Alright. Just don't do anything rash."

"Five seconds. Start talking."

"I don't know exactly why Sonic released those creatures. That's the truth, I swear. Perhaps he changed his mind about using them. You'd have to ask him next time you see him. As for his surrendering everything for the fox cub, that was a ploy. You must have realised that he never intended to hand over the Chaos Emeralds to me; he didn't even use one to pull that little reflection trick on me."

"Still fell for it though, didn't you?"

"I wasn't expecting it." This much at least was the truth. "I did what anyone would do; I blinked and looked away. As far as Sonic's concerned, a second is long enough for him to do what he needs."

"Yes, but if he's such a bad guy, why didn't he just call your bluff?" Knuckles' eyes narrowed. "You _were_ bluffing, weren't you? There must be other orphans down on the surface; he could just abandon that one and grab another to replace him, if he's really only keeping the kid with him for publicity."

"This one is more unique than the others. A fox with two tails? Not only that, he can fly."

Knuckles folded his arms. "So can every bird and bat on Mobius. If wings are all Sonic's after, he wouldn't have picked a fox. They aren't particularly aerodynamic, in case you didn't know. And you still haven't told me where that snowboard came from."

Robotnik shrugged. "I thought you put it there."

"Oh yeah." The sarcasm in Knuckles' voice was heavier than Robotnik had ever heard it. "Yeah, I _always_ leave a snowboard sticking out of the mountain just in case some psycho hedgehog decides to fire himself out of a cannon in Carnival Night Zone."

The doctor shrugged again. "Well, I have absolutely no idea where it came from, Guardian. Perhaps Sonic rigged it himself? Now, _if_ you don't mind...?" He held out his hand expectantly.

Scowling, Knuckles dropped the key into it, not because he wanted to help the doctor but because he wanted him out of his spines, wanted time to be alone and to _think_.

As soon as Robotnik had glided away, the echidna sat down in the snow, staring at nothing. He was – much as he hated to admit it – at a complete loss, and he was also starting to worry. Nobody had ever come so close to the Master Emerald before. The fact that Ice Cap Zone could hardly be considered close didn't come into it; he was used to driving people off the edge either as soon as they arrived, or trapping them in Hydrocity and letting the defences take care of the job for him. The hedgehog seemed to brush off everything Knuckles had to throw at him, almost as if it were nothing more than a game.

Looking over the mountains, he could just about make out Tails' snow hedgehog a few plateaus over and frowned. He had very vague memories of doing the same thing with his father when he'd been about three. Something about Robotnik's story didn't ring true, but the echidna was damned if he could put his finger on _what_.

He remembered something else too; Sonic's reaction when he discovered Knuckles' footprints next to that baby fox. The echidna hadn't been planning to hurt the cub; he'd intended to wake him up and get some answers, only Sonic had returned sooner than Knuckles had expected.

That in itself wasn't too much of a problem, except the echidna wanted to quiz the cub _away_ from his zealous guardian. Sonic's reaction and the threats he'd made into the mouth of Knuckles' hastily dug tunnel had planted some serious doubts in the echidna's mind. Sonic hadn't been saying that to impress other people with his devotion to the fox, because there were no other people _to_ impress.

And he couldn't shake the image of Robotnik pinning that cub to the ground. Satisfaction in beating an enemy Knuckles could understand all too well, but the doctor had seemed a little _too_ happy. Besides, why make the kid suffer when – according to Robotnik himself – he had no real part in any of this?

Then again, it was perfectly possible to be a good guy without being a particularly nice one. Knuckles held himself up as living proof of this. Most likely Robotnik had just been carried away at the thought of finally beating his opponent. Of course, Knuckles admitted, he hadn't succeeded, but he agreed with the doctor that Sonic's use of the diamond was a dirty, underhanded trick, just what he would have expected from a would-be thief like the hedgehog.

Feeling better, Knuckles got abruptly to his feet, shading his eyes against the sun. The hedgehog was doing exactly what Robotnik had claimed he would do; making a beeline for that giant sphere that had crashed some time back. The echidna didn't know what Sonic planned to do with it once it had been repaired, but he was convinced that it could be nothing good.

Taking a short run, Knuckles launched himself off the mountain and started gliding towards the crash site. If he hurried, he could set up his own defences there. Between them, he and Robotnik should be able to deal with that annoying blue intruder.

**Heh. Okay, so next up is Act One of Launch Base (cue more playing under the guise of 'research' :P) In the meantime, hope you liked this chapter and if you read, please review!**


	13. Launch Base Zone Act One

**ACK! I can't believe it's been almost a year since this was last updated! I'm sorry, guys, really sorry. Things are a little more back to normal now so the next update won't be anywhere near as long :) In the meantime…**

**Usami: **Thanks :D Yeah, when it comes to spotting Robotnik's lies, Knux is so near...and yet so far :D

**Ember Rock: **Heh, thanks. I do love Launch Base, although I've never worked out why. Guess some levels just grab you like that.

**Asher Tye: **You're right about that ;)

**Chibi-Cougar: **(bows) Your wish is my command; one continuation.

**Taranea: **Thanks :D Yeah, I'm not sure Knux is actually stupid so much as very, very naïve ;)

**Dr. Sipp: **Thanks. _Guardian's Choice_...it's not abandoned, but I don't know when it'll next be updated.

**Pyro Hedgehog: **Yeah, me too. That's going to be one explosive encounter between Knux and Robotnik ;)

**Si Fron Dimensional Creator: **:D Thanks! I try to make it real and stick to the basic level design as well :)

**Rebell: **Thanks :D I have a lot of fun writing Robotnik; somehow I don't see him as the immature scientist certain fandoms (coughSonicXcough) portray him as :P

**Nickkp9: **Yeah, the snowboard thing was just TOO much of a coincidence to let it go ;)

**Nicend: **Thanks :)

**MoonlightWander: **Thanks, and as requested, here is more :D

**FlyingKunai: **Well…it wasn't updated as soon as I planned, but better late than never, right? Right?

**AlbinoChocobo: **Blood on the wall? Oh, now that's an interesting idea. I may have to use that ;)

**Cyberkidx: **Heh, you're close, but the final Chaos Emerald will be…well, you'll find out ;)

* * *

Sonic stretched up, working the kinks out of his muscles, then wandered over to a large pile of sticks and leaves that was the remains of his and Tails' shelter.

Things had improved drastically since they'd left the mountains. Sonic's tunnelling had brought them out on a grassy plain that was backed by several fruit trees, giving both Sonic and Tails the first really good meal they'd had in some time. They'd continued walking towards the city Sonic had spotted (at least, he thought it was a city) at a leisurely pace quite different from the racing they'd both done before. The rest and hot sun had done Sonic's shoulder good and he was practically back to his old self now, much to Tails' delight.

In fact, if you ignored the likelihood that Robotnik or that other guy was going to show up and try to kill them again at any minute, Sonic thought that this was a pretty good place for a vacation.

They'd found a small clearing after only four days' walking, and had set up a rudimentary sort of camp there, despite neither of them having the first idea how to build a shelter. Both of them had decided that it was worth taking a few days to rest and relax (at least, Sonic had) which had led to shelter building.

How did people do it in books? Sonic scratched his head as he studied his latest failed attempt, which had just collapsed for the sixth time. Admittedly this wasn't so much because of Sonic's lack of architectural ability as the fact that Tails had tried to help and pulled out a crucial stick, but that wasn't much consolation.

"'M sorry," Tails said for the fourth time since it had happened. "I didn't know that stick was important, Sonic, _honest_."

Sonic, who hadn't realised the stick was important either until the shelter had collapsed on his head, grinned.

"Wasn't your fault, squirt." Abandoning construction for the time being, Sonic lay down and stretched out leisurely, basking in the warm sun as Tails snuggled up next to him, one arm flung across his idol's torso.

"Sonic?" Tails mumbled drowsily into the hedgehog's warm fur.

"Hmm?" Barely awake himself, Sonic reached down to run a hand over the fur on Tails' head.

"When we get to the sea, c'n I swim in it?"

"Sure."

Tails' namesakes thumped once or twice on the ground, then he added, "An' are _you_ gonna go in it this time, Sonic?"

The hedgehog chuckled. "Tell you what, squirt. If you can find me another of those water shields, then maybe – _maybe_ – I'll think about it."

"You _will_?" Tails' eyes opened as wide as they'd go and he stared at Sonic, hardly daring to believe his luck.

"Sure," Sonic said again, while making a mental note to search the area and hide any water shield well before Tails got there.

It was another week before they decided it was time to move on, and to Sonic's surprise, neither Robotnik nor their mystery attacker had showed up during that time.

The hedgehog perked up at that thought. Maybe the stranger had finally realised Robotnik had been lying to him. There had been one or two occasions when Sonic had felt he was being watched, similar to the feelings he'd experienced back in the mountains, but something said that although the watcher was still hostile, there was a certain amount of curiosity as well.

Sonic had tried calling out once or twice, but there had been no response and the hedgehog had eventually given it up as a bad job.

Apart from this, however, the journey proceeded fairly smoothly, although the closer Sonic and Tails got to the city, the more the hedgehog came to realise that it wasn't a city so much as a huge construction site.

_But for what?_ Sonic wondered. Robotnik could build machines if he was stranded on a desert island. Huge construction sites really weren't his style.

_Unless he's building something really big this time..._

Right on cue, Tails pointed. "Sonic, look at that!"

The hedgehog looked obligingly and froze as he caught sight of the huge metallic sphere that was half submersed in the ocean.

"Is that the moon, Sonic?" Tails said, peering up at Sonic anxiously. "Did ol' Robotnik shoot down one of the moons? 'Cause Mobius won't be the same with on'y one."

"That's no moon, Tails," Sonic said, still staring at the monstrosity up ahead. "It's a space shuttle."

Tails frowned critically. "Nuh uh; it's too big to be a space shuttle."

"It's called the Death Egg." Just looking at it made Sonic's body tingle. The Death Egg had almost lived up to its name as far as he was concerned. The hedgehog had nightmares about his final battle on board there, and he still wasn't entirely sure how he'd survived in the end.

A little searching on his part coupled with a lot of flying on Tails' finally managed to get them onto the construction site, which put Sonic very much in mind of Robotnik's Wing Fortress.

In spite of himself, the hedgehog felt a certain optimism partly caused by his recovery and partly by the thought that this might give him the chance to stop Robotnik once and for all. At the very least, if he could take out the Death Egg, it would help.

Sonic was so busy making plans for the machine's destruction and wondering if he could get Tails to help take it to pieces that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and the first indication he had that they might have been detected was when an alarm blared out.

Sonic leapt back instinctively and curled over as something red and fast hurtled towards him out of the sky. He felt something shatter against his quills and straightened up again as metal debris rained down around him.

_That's something new_. Robotnik had never built alarm systems before...which was a little odd, now that the hedgehog thought about it. After all, the doctor must know that people would want to stop him.

Almost immediately the thought came back: _who_? Mobians might despise Robotnik, they may hate him and his plans for world domination etcetera etcetera, but so far the only ones who had actually done anything definite to try and stop him had been Sonic himself and more recently Tails. It wasn't as if Mobius even had an army or anything more dangerous than Zonal security.

Sonic jumped to the next platform, catching hold of the ledge and swinging himself up to the top and from there into a large passage, barely listening to Tails' incensed diatribe _re_ mean red flying bot things that tried to whump you _just_ when you weren't looking, and how ol' Robotnik was gonna pay as soon as Tails caught up with him and how that was probably why they hadn't seen him, 'cause he was too busy hiding from them, and how—

At which point Tails fell silent, not because he'd run out of things to say but because Sonic had just wrapped a hand over his mouth, having long since discovered that this was the most effective – and indeed only – way to shut the little fox up.

A few yards ahead, an orbinaut hovered in midair, staring at them, or at least in their general direction. Not for the first time, Sonic wondered how a robot perceived the world.

Unlike all the other orbinauts Sonic had encountered, this one didn't fling its rotating spheres at them. Instead, it just hung there motionless.

Maybe it was offline. Carefully, ready to dodge at the first hint of danger, Sonic approached. Were they intelligent enough to set a trap? Was it going to attack as soon as he got close enough?

He soon got his answer as the thing buzzed into life and moved towards them. Unlike any other orbinaut Sonic had encountered before, this one didn't fling missiles at them but instead kept them close, spinning around its body so fast that the hedgehog couldn't judge the best time to attack.

Carefully, Sonic took a step or two back. To his surprise, the orbinaut also retreated a foot.

_So...what? It's like a guard?_

A few more experiments soon answered that question; the orbinaut mirrored Sonic's moves exactly, effectively blocking the way ahead. To make matters worse, the ceiling was too low to jump over the bot and Tails' flying was blocked even more easily than Sonic's attempts.

_So now what_? Sonic wondered as he fell back for the fourth time. The bot was so well-protected that a direct attack was suicidal, even for him, and although they could probably find another way around, who knew how much time they'd waste?

Tails glanced up at Sonic, worried.

"Sonic? How come we're not going anywhere?"

"Because in case you haven't noticed, squirt, there's a robot in the way!"

"But you c'n whump it, right Sonic?" When Sonic didn't answer immediately, Tails' frown deepened. He was sure that the hedgehog was just playing with the robot, but they didn't have _time_ for playing 'cause they had to go and whump ol' Robotnik before he did something _really_ bad. Tails was quite proud of how grown-up this thought sounded.

Well, if Sonic wouldn't hurry up and whump the robot, Tails would just have to whump it for him!

The first indication Sonic had of the little fox's plan was when something small, fluffy and very determined tackled him around the waist, sending him sprawling seconds before something else exploded above his head. The balls from the orbinaut crashed down around the pair with enough force to embed themselves in the metal.

Getting to his feet, Tails fixed Sonic with a determined look.

"Okay. Now if we're _done_ playing, Sonic, can we go and whump ol' Robotnik?"

"What _was _that?"

Tails scratched his head as he answered, "Well, I didn't wanna wait forever, Sonic, an' you were taking _way_ too long playing with that robot so I went back to that 'larm thing an' got one of the plane bots to chase me an' kinda ducked out the way an' I guess it couldn't stop in time 'cause it blew up that spinny bot."

"Orbinaut," Sonic corrected automatically.

"Spinny bot," Tails agreed. "'Cause it moved towards the plane an' one of the balls hit the plane an' the plane went _poom_ and that made the spinny bot go _poom_ so we can _go_ now Sonic c'mon!"

Sonic was still none the wiser, but Tails was right about one thing; the way ahead was clear.

It didn't remain clear for long, however, as the first thing Sonic and Tails saw when they emerged into the open air was another robot perched on top of a metal scaffolding. This one looked like a frog, or maybe a deformed turtle head. Compared to Robotnik's normal design, though, Sonic thought it was actually quite cute.

There was, however, nothing cute about the huge metal weights it was pounding into the ground ahead. Curious, Sonic picked up a scrap of metal about half an inch thick and tossed it under one of the weights in question.

The weight didn't so much as quiver as it crashed down. Timing it carefully, Sonic darted his hand in before the bot could crush it and withdrew the same chunk of metal, now hammered to paper thinness.

_Oh man._

Well, at least this one wasn't invulnerable. Sonic waited a few seconds to be sure that the robot wasn't about to lash out at him (although he was pretty sure he could avoid it if it did) and then leapt into the air, curling over to spindash the bot neatly in half.

"_Hey Sonic_!"

Sonic glanced up in the direction of the little fox's voice; undeterred by any frog robot, Tails had simply flown over the top and continued exploring.

"Tails?" Sonic broke into a jog, scanning the base for any signs of the little fox.

"Over here!"

The hedgehog ducked into another...well, he supposed you could call it a _building_, although it was more accurate to say it wasn't anything else. High ceilings, no furniture...did anyone actually live here, or was it a ruin like that garden place? He couldn't think of any reason why Robotnik would construct empty buildings.

_Unless he's planning to fill them with something later on_...

"_Sonic_!" The voice was coming from inside a giant bowl on a pole, and Sonic skidded to a stop as he stared at it.

_What on Mobius..._?

Tails' head poked over the edge. "C'mon Sonic! You gotta see this!"

Curious now, Sonic vaulted into the bowl, which didn't even vibrate as his weight hit it. There was nothing inside except a large red button on the far side.

"I didn't wanna press it 'til you got here, Sonic," Tails informed him solemnly, "'cause I dunno what it does."

The thought occurred to Sonic that this had never stopped Tails before, but he didn't say anything besides, "Let's find out."

"_Yeah_!" Tails put both hands on the edge of the bowl and pulled himself up enough to peer over, just in case whatever happened was going to take place outside.

Reaching out with a suitable air of suspense (right down to the dramatic posing with his finger at the ready for a good ten seconds) Sonic pushed the button.

Instantly the bowl started to rotate around the pole, rising up as it did so with a rattling clank of machinery. The sound increased as they rose higher, and Sonic was about to ask Tails to airlift him the rest of the way before the bowl shook to pieces around them when it juddered to a stop.

"I'm surprised you're still alive."

Glancing up at the now familiar stranger, Sonic had the presence of mind to grab Tails and clamp a hand over his mouth this time.

"Hi. Can we talk?"

"We got nothing to say to each other." The creature stared at Sonic, eyes narrowed. "Robotnik was right about you after all. He told me you'd come here for your Death Egg."

Sonic struggled to stand and keep Tails quiet at the same time. This could well be the only chance he got to explain things without the little fox messing it up.

"Do I _look_ like the kinda guy who builds huge mechanical balls to fly around in?"

"I've seen the mechanical hedgehog you built. You construct things in your own image, just like that giant ball."

Sonic gaped at the stranger, then pointed past him at the part of the Death Egg that was visible above the water.

"How in the _hell_ does _that_ look anything _like_ me?"

"It could pass for a curled hedgehog, in the right light."

"It has a giant _moustache_!"

The creature shrugged. "I never said you weren't imaginative."

"Yeah?" Sonic glared at him. "Then _imagine_ this! You been hanging around with Robotnik, a scientific genius with a huge moustache. There's a giant floating scientific-y genius-y ball thing out there with a huge moustache. Coincidence? I don't _think_ so!"

"And there's the remains of a particularly sophisticated hedgehog robot inside that ball," the stranger retorted. "Why would Robotnik build a machine that looked like his worst enemy?"

"Why would _I_ build one that looked like _mine_?" Sonic countered. "Robotnik's playing you for a sucker!"

If the stranger was convinced by Sonic's words, he hid it extremely well.

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I'm telling the truth!" Abandoning Tails, Sonic surged to his feet, causing the lift to wobble alarmingly, and only realised his mistake when the stranger took half a step back, braced for combat. Clinging onto the side for balance, Sonic racked his brains frantically for a convincing argument before saying, "We haven't attacked you, so why're you so determined to pick a fight with us? What'd we do?"

"You came to the island," the other said, in tones which made it clear that this crime was on a par with eating live babies.

"So did Robuttnik. How come you're picking on us and not him? 'Cause if you think the doc's gonna leave this island—"

"That's my problem."

Sonic racked his brains frantically. There had to be something he could say to persuade their antagonist...

"Look, Robuttnik's one hell of a good liar. Believe me. I _know_ him, I know the kind of things he does. I can help you deal with him—"

He'd miscalculated. He realised that even before the stranger's eyes blazed at him.

"I do not need _anyone's_ help, outsider, least of all _yours_!"

As Sonic watched, the creature reached into his spines and pulled out a black spherical object that the hedgehog recognised instantly as the classic bomb that featured on so many of the cartoons that Tails was always watching. He hadn't realised they existed in real life as well.

The stranger hurled it into the building, then turned and raced out of range, jumping off the edge and gliding out of sight.

"Tails, _go_!" Sonic hurled himself out of the bowl and leapt for the ledge on the other side. The masonry crumbled under his foot and he fell forward, scrabbling for a handhold. Swooping down, Tails grabbed the hedgehog's wrist and pulled as hard as he could, dragging the hedgehog up until Sonic was able to grab a protruding chunk of marble and haul himself to safety. Pausing on all fours, he glanced over his shoulder to see the bomb still tumbling end over end towards the bottom of the building. To Sonic's tortured mind, it seemed to be falling in slow motion.

He didn't hear it hit the ground, but he saw the fireball mushrooming towards them.

"C'mon!" Grabbing Tails, he raced forward, throwing himself after the stranger and not worrying about what was underneath them. Blazing heat flickered around his back and tail and Sonic dived further down. One hand shot up to grab the remains of a railing and swung him and Tails under the ledge and behind a solid-looking pillar a split second before the explosion hit.

The noise was loud, abrupt and – to someone who was used to long, drawn-out explosions on TV – surprisingly short. It was as though he and Tails had been standing next to a giant firework, an impression that was heightened by the rocks and burning debris that rained down around them.

When five minutes had gone by without anything else happening, Sonic risked poking his head out around the pillar.

"Wow."

The building was gone, replaced by nothing but empty space. Despite being small, the bomb had been powerful enough to blast a chunk of the island away.

Tails clambered onto Sonic's shoulders to peer around him, eyes huge.

"Why'd he try an' blow us up, Sonic?"

"I dunno, squirt." Sonic reached up absentmindedly to scratch Tails behind the ears.

"Mebbe he jus' wants to throw us off his island."

"If he doesn't chill out, he's not going to have much of an island left to throw us off." Sonic felt around for a handhold, then started climbing up the rock.

"Um. Sonic?"

The hedgehog glanced at the little fox. "Yeah?"

Tails was wearing an expression that made him look like he'd taken too much soda into his mouth, cheeks puffed out and both hands clamped over his mouth.

"What?" Sonic knew Tails well enough to know the signs by now. "What's so funny?"

The little fox burst out laughing, laughed so hard he could barely stand upright and for so long that Sonic seriously began to wonder if Tails had been pushed over the edge. Eventually the words 'Your butt' became intelligible through the shrieking giggles.

"My _what_?" Sonic twisted around in an attempt to see his rear end and saw it had been singed so badly by the explosion that it was now completely bald, then narrowed his eyes. "Oh, it is _on_!"

It took some time for him to climb back up, mainly because Tails was still inclined to collapse in giggles whenever he caught sight of Sonic's tail, and kept sneaking back around to see if it was still as pink and bare as he thought.

Eventually Sonic resorted to picking Tails up, turning him around and carrying him forward as they headed up a nearby ramp. The hedgehog had no idea where they were going; he just hoped they'd find something sooner or later, some way of getting their bearings.

_Man, this is worse than Labyrinth Zone_, Sonic thought as he trudged up another ramp. Running wasn't an option; he might miss something important and besides, the last time he'd carried Tails faster than a hundred miles an hour the little fox had been violently sick.

At least going further up gave them a goal. Sonic wasn't entirely sure what they'd do when they got to the top. Go back down again, he supposed. They still hadn't found that last Chaos Emerald, after all.

Then they walked into the final building and all thoughts of Chaos Emeralds promptly left Sonic's mind.

It was larger than the others had been and also unlike the others, there was something there. Three somethings to be exact; two complicated looking wall panels and one hole in the wall that Sonic tried but couldn't see into. There was also a very familiar figure in a very familiar vehicle.

"Ah, Sonic. Still alive, I see." Robotnik let his gaze travel over the hedgehog's singed fur and didn't bother hiding a broad grin as he saw Sonic's bald tail.

"Don't you _dare _say a word, doc," Sonic instructed him flatly, although he was privately relieved to see the doctor again, knowing that Robotnik's presence would at least distract Tails.

"I wouldn't dream of it." The doctor was all innocence as the metal arm underneath his Egg-O-Matic lifted the final panel and slotted it into place, then he smirked down at the hedgehog. "Well, Sonic, I hate to leave you _behind_, but—"

"Doc, if you don't zip it _right_ now, I'm gonna blow that Egg-O-Matic of yours outta the sky!" Sonic said stridently.

Robotnik chuckled. "Oh, so you've managed to find a stick of dynamite on your travels, have you?" He shook his head, clicking his tongue. "Such violent impulses. If you ever find yourself on my fortress, Sonic, you must stop by the medical wing. I have several highly qualified therapist droids that can help you, shall we say, get to the _bottom_ of your rage?"

"Okay, that does it!" Sonic couldn't get angry at Tails for laughing, but Robotnik was a different matter entirely. Dumping Tails on the ground, he raced forward and leapt towards the Egg-O-Matic.

"Dear, dear." Sonic's assault had missed by at least three feet; Robotnik had learned his lesson about being within jumping range of the hedgehog a long time ago and was now grinning evilly. "You seem to be unusually hostile today, Sonic. If you want something to take that temper of yours out on, I'll be more than happy to oblige."

Pulling out a button with what Sonic considered an unnecessary flourish, the doctor pushed it. There was a grinding sound as the panel Robotnik had just fitted slid up to reveal the hole behind it, causing Sonic to wonder why the doctor had bothered putting the panel in place to begin with. It was too dark to see what was behind it, but Sonic heard the soft whine of machinery start up.

"Do give my regards to all those on the other side, Sonic, won't you?" Robotnik said pleasantly as he accelerated out of sight.

Inside the hole, a single red light flickered on.

Sonic stared at it, feeling a quiver of apprehension.

"That can't be good."

Metal gleamed as the machine slid out of its niche. It was smaller than Sonic had been expecting, being the same size and shape as a curled up hedgehog. In the centre, a single red orb flashed and pulsated.

It hovered in midair just above him, and Sonic wondered irrelevantly just how Robotnik's creations – including the Egg-O-Matic – managed to stay airborne.

_After all, it's not like they have thrusters or anything._

The machine swooped towards him and Sonic leapt out the way, attention focused on the sphere.

Something rammed him full on from the left, knocking him off his feet and sending him flying into the far wall with enough force to dislodge brick dust from the ceiling.

Sonic forced himself to his feet. Blood was seeping out of several shallow gashes down his left side and across his chest where the machine had hit him. Pain exploded in his right ankle when he tried to put his full weight on it and the leg buckled, spilling him onto his side just as something whooshed over him so close that the hedgehog felt the fur on his back ripple.

_What WAS that_? Sonic risked poking his head up and caught sight of a large spiked ball retracting into a large panel on the back of the machine.

"Sonic!" Tails had fortunately had the presence of mind to fly out of harm's way and was now hovering anxiously just below ceiling level.

"I'm okay, squirt." The hedgehog got to his feet, trying not to limp too heavily. The ankle wasn't sprained, just badly twisted; give it a few minutes and it would probably be alright again.

Focusing on the bot, which had now slotted itself back into the niche, Sonic waited to see what would happen next.

The red orb glowed more brightly as the machine emerged for the second time. This time two spiked balls on the ends of chains at least fifteen feet long dropped out of the back and began spinning furiously. Occasionally one of them shot out in an attempt to crush the hedgehog, attempts Sonic managed to escape each time. The only problem was that dodging the robot left the hedgehog no chance to try and figure out a counter-attack.

Was it his imagination, or was it faster than before? Sonic barely dodged another blow from one of the machine's flailing arms, only to run straight into the second one which passed by so close it grazed his arm. Something inside told him that Robotnik wasn't playing around anymore; he wanted the hedgehog dead as soon as possible.

_Which means he must be afraid that I'll...what? _

Destroy the Death Egg? Somehow expose his lies for what they were? Sonic felt his heart lift even as he dodged another blow. If Robotnik really was worried about him doing that, then he and Tails still had a chance.

Was the robot slowing down again? Sonic wasn't sure, but he thought it might be. The spinning arms were just a fraction less blurred, the blows a little less rapid-fire.

Something occurred to the hedgehog as the machine retreated to its niche for the second time and he looked up at Tails. The little fox had been trying to pile in and help Sonic, only to be continuously driven back and now he hovered above the fight, darting about anxiously and trying to spot an opportunity to attack.

"Tails! Next time that thing comes out, get into the hole! Find out what's there!"

Tails started to answer but at that point the machine started up again and his voice was lost in the thrum of engines and so he raised both hands in a thumbs-up sign and zipped in behind the robot.

One of the metal balls smashed through the wall and promptly got stuck. Taking advantage of the machine's temporary immobility as it tried to pull itself free, Sonic cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled over the crunching of gears, "Anything?"

Tails swooped down, nodding. "Yup! There's _loadsa_ lights an' switches there, an' a real big plug socket thing!"

Which meant the machine was using it to recharge, Sonic thought. A grin appeared on his face and he pulled out a blue-handled screwdriver from his quills and tossed it up to the little fox.

"Think you can figure out how it's put together?"

Tails' face lit up. Although the screwdriver was technically his, Sonic insisted on looking after it in case Tails lost it. This was a lie that Sonic had cooked up to spare the little fox's feelings; the truth was that Tails simply couldn't be trusted with the screwdriver around anything mechanical, as the hedgehog had found out to his cost in a hotel in Metropolis Zone. Most people refused to believe that Tails could put the objects back together and just insisted that Sonic pay for whatever the little fox had dismantled.

It took less than ten seconds for Tails to fly in and systematically destroy the mechanisms inside the niche, coupled with various small pieces of metal and circuitry flying out of the hole as the little fox threw unwanted components over his shoulder.

Leaving Tails to it for the time being, Sonic raced over to where the machine was still trying to pull itself free and leapt into the air, spindashing through the chain that was now stretched taut and slicing through it. The resulting physical laws sent the robot flying through the air and into the far wall, where its remaining arm flailed about uselessly for a few minutes before it righted itself and retreated to the niche.

This time, it was definitely slower when it came out. Sonic dodged the initial blow with mocking ease, then didn't even bother taking off the second arm before ramming into the central part of the machine with all the force he could muster. The robot crashed down to earth, Sonic not far behind. Pushing himself to his feet, Sonic swayed slightly as the adrenaline from the fight wore off, leaving him with nothing more than minor blood loss and the sudden reminder that he hadn't eaten since yesterday.

As they walked outside, Tails caught sight of the Egg Prison up ahead and scampered forward with an excited _Yip_! to bounce on the top and free the occupants.

"More ferals?" Sonic stepped back absently to let them pass. In spite of his comment, he hadn't really expected much else at this point.

"Mebbe nobody else lives here," Tails suggested as one of the ferals hopped over his foot.

"That guy who keeps trying to kill us lives here," Sonic said rather shortly. Unfairness was one of the few things that really made him angry, and this stranger's refusal to let them explain matters fell broadly into that category.

"Mebbe he came to visit on'y he got stuck. Mebbe ol' Robotnik promised to take him back down if he helped him."

That was a good point, and one that Sonic hadn't considered before. Although...

"I don't think he got stuck, squirt, I think whoever was with him probably _dumped_ him here!" This was delivered in a rising voice in the somewhat vain hopes that the stranger would somehow overhear him.

Tails' small snout crinkled in thought before he finally said, "Mebbe it was a hedgehog that dumped him an' that's why he hates you, 'cause you're a hedgehog."

_Great, Sonic. Psychology lessons from a five year old. And you thought things couldn't get any stranger._

Grinning at Tails, Sonic reached down to ruffle the fur on his head.

"You may have something there, lil bro. C'mon. Whaddaya say we go find something to eat?"

Tails' ears pricked up so fast they almost left his head. "_Yeah_! What're we gonna eat, Sonic?"

That was a very good question, Sonic thought. He hadn't got that far; he was just aware of a yawning vacuum where his stomach should be.

Catching sight of the ocean, he grinned. He wanted to clean his injuries and there was no reason why they couldn't kill two birds with one stone.

"Do you like fish, squirt?"

Tails' eyes lit up. "Boy, do I ever! How're we gonna catch 'em, Sonic?"

That was another very good question. Sonic had no idea what the answer might be, but he thought it would probably sort itself out. How hard could it be to catch a few fish, anyway?

* * *

**(looks around at people groaning over Sonic's moon comment) Oh c'mon; if Sega are allowed to shamelessly rip off **_**Star Wars**_** with the whole Death Egg thing then I don't see why I can't :P Anyway, that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it and if you read, please review!**


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